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More than 200 people who protested during President Donald Trump's inauguration were rounded up by police and dozens faced felony charges. (Photo: Elvert Barnes/Flickr/cc)
Victory for Dissent as Government Drops Charges Against Group of J20 Protesters
The developments followed revelations that the government lied about evidence—but that wasn't enough to delay closing arguments for one group of defendants
May 31, 2018
This is a developing story and may be updated...
In a series of victories for civil disobedience rights on Thursday, the U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) dropped charges and dismissed several cases against people involved with the #DisruptJ20 march during President Donald Trump's inauguration, and a federal judge sanctioned prosecutors for lying about evidence.
As Common Dreams has reported, last year "more than 200 anti-Trump demonstrators, legal observers, and journalists were 'indiscriminately' swept up in mass arrests carried out during inauguration protests."
Although a jury found the first group of protesters not guilty of all charges in December, federal prosecutors have continued pursuing cases against 59 of the rounded-up demonstrators--trying them in groups, seeking to imprison them for decades on felony charges, and relying heavily on recordings by the right-wing activist group Project Veritas.
Following a revelation last week that "prosecutors suppressed potentially exculpatory evidence," known as a Brady violation, it was revealed in an overnight filing by defense attorneys that the government concealed 69 Project Veritas audio and video files and altered other recordings.
\u201cThis is prosecutorial misconduct plain and simple. The @USAO_DC has repeatedly abused its power in a quest to lock people up for exercising their First Amendment rights on Inauguration Day. #J20 https://t.co/JaIxLbG6uh\u201d— ACLU of the District of Columbia (@ACLU of the District of Columbia) 1527786183
In response to the new Brady violations, at a pre-trial hearing on Thursday, Superior Court Judge Robert Morin dismissed conspiracy charges with prejudice--meaning that they cannot be refiled--but dismissed lesser charges without prejudice, meaning the government can still pursue those, according to reporters from the Huffington Post and Unicorn Riot.
\u201cJudge Morin dismissed felony charges with prejudice against several #j20 defendants, finding government Brady violations in handling of Project Veritas videos. \n\n\u201cI do think it\u2019s a serious violation,\u201d Morin said, adding government\u2019s conduct was \u201cnot explainable to the court.\u201d\u201d— Ryan J. Reilly (@Ryan J. Reilly) 1527778219
The USAO has dropped felony charges against those in the May 29 trial group--the third group of J20 protesters--and all charges against those in the June 4 group.
\u201cUS Attorney has also dropped all charges against one May 29 trial group defendant, and is dropping all felony charges against other May 29 defendants, still seek to proceed to trial on misdemeanor charges \n#J20 #J20trial\u201d— UNICORN RIOT \ud83e\udd84 mastodon.social/@unicornriot \ud83d\udc48\u2757\u2728 (@UNICORN RIOT \ud83e\udd84 mastodon.social/@unicornriot \ud83d\udc48\u2757\u2728) 1527772701
\u201cThe 3 defendants still facing charges from the scheduled May 29 trial group will now go to trial on Monday. Since all felony charges against them were dismissed, they only face a misdemeanor trial and will be tried in front of a Judge alone, with no jury. \n\n#J20 #J20trial\u201d— UNICORN RIOT \ud83e\udd84 mastodon.social/@unicornriot \ud83d\udc48\u2757\u2728 (@UNICORN RIOT \ud83e\udd84 mastodon.social/@unicornriot \ud83d\udc48\u2757\u2728) 1527775857
However, the revelations about prosecutors concealing evidence and Morin's subsequent ruling have not yet impacted the second trial group. During Morin's hearing on Thursday, closing arguments for the May 14 trial group were taking place on another floor of the same courthouse.
\u201cMost of Assistant US Attorney Qureshi\u2019s closing arguments were word for word the same as in his failed arguments in the first trial. He told jurors that defendants \u201cagreed on January 20 to destroy your city.\u201d Qureshi used the phrase \u201csea of black\u201d at least 10 times in his closing\u201d— UNICORN RIOT \ud83e\udd84 mastodon.social/@unicornriot \ud83d\udc48\u2757\u2728 (@UNICORN RIOT \ud83e\udd84 mastodon.social/@unicornriot \ud83d\udc48\u2757\u2728) 1527776842
Reporters were quick to point out that prosecutors used the same evidence that led to Morin's sanctions to build a case against the May 14 group. If anyone from the second group is found guilty, appeals are expected to cite the new findings.
\u201cIt's worth noting that all the evidence Morin called foul on has been permitted by Knowles as we enter closing arguments today. So unfortunately the 05/14 group still faces a lot of hazard.\n\nhttps://t.co/fdfGH1rgw6\u201d— E.C. Hamilton (@E.C. Hamilton) 1527698560
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This is a developing story and may be updated...
In a series of victories for civil disobedience rights on Thursday, the U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) dropped charges and dismissed several cases against people involved with the #DisruptJ20 march during President Donald Trump's inauguration, and a federal judge sanctioned prosecutors for lying about evidence.
As Common Dreams has reported, last year "more than 200 anti-Trump demonstrators, legal observers, and journalists were 'indiscriminately' swept up in mass arrests carried out during inauguration protests."
Although a jury found the first group of protesters not guilty of all charges in December, federal prosecutors have continued pursuing cases against 59 of the rounded-up demonstrators--trying them in groups, seeking to imprison them for decades on felony charges, and relying heavily on recordings by the right-wing activist group Project Veritas.
Following a revelation last week that "prosecutors suppressed potentially exculpatory evidence," known as a Brady violation, it was revealed in an overnight filing by defense attorneys that the government concealed 69 Project Veritas audio and video files and altered other recordings.
\u201cThis is prosecutorial misconduct plain and simple. The @USAO_DC has repeatedly abused its power in a quest to lock people up for exercising their First Amendment rights on Inauguration Day. #J20 https://t.co/JaIxLbG6uh\u201d— ACLU of the District of Columbia (@ACLU of the District of Columbia) 1527786183
In response to the new Brady violations, at a pre-trial hearing on Thursday, Superior Court Judge Robert Morin dismissed conspiracy charges with prejudice--meaning that they cannot be refiled--but dismissed lesser charges without prejudice, meaning the government can still pursue those, according to reporters from the Huffington Post and Unicorn Riot.
\u201cJudge Morin dismissed felony charges with prejudice against several #j20 defendants, finding government Brady violations in handling of Project Veritas videos. \n\n\u201cI do think it\u2019s a serious violation,\u201d Morin said, adding government\u2019s conduct was \u201cnot explainable to the court.\u201d\u201d— Ryan J. Reilly (@Ryan J. Reilly) 1527778219
The USAO has dropped felony charges against those in the May 29 trial group--the third group of J20 protesters--and all charges against those in the June 4 group.
\u201cUS Attorney has also dropped all charges against one May 29 trial group defendant, and is dropping all felony charges against other May 29 defendants, still seek to proceed to trial on misdemeanor charges \n#J20 #J20trial\u201d— UNICORN RIOT \ud83e\udd84 mastodon.social/@unicornriot \ud83d\udc48\u2757\u2728 (@UNICORN RIOT \ud83e\udd84 mastodon.social/@unicornriot \ud83d\udc48\u2757\u2728) 1527772701
\u201cThe 3 defendants still facing charges from the scheduled May 29 trial group will now go to trial on Monday. Since all felony charges against them were dismissed, they only face a misdemeanor trial and will be tried in front of a Judge alone, with no jury. \n\n#J20 #J20trial\u201d— UNICORN RIOT \ud83e\udd84 mastodon.social/@unicornriot \ud83d\udc48\u2757\u2728 (@UNICORN RIOT \ud83e\udd84 mastodon.social/@unicornriot \ud83d\udc48\u2757\u2728) 1527775857
However, the revelations about prosecutors concealing evidence and Morin's subsequent ruling have not yet impacted the second trial group. During Morin's hearing on Thursday, closing arguments for the May 14 trial group were taking place on another floor of the same courthouse.
\u201cMost of Assistant US Attorney Qureshi\u2019s closing arguments were word for word the same as in his failed arguments in the first trial. He told jurors that defendants \u201cagreed on January 20 to destroy your city.\u201d Qureshi used the phrase \u201csea of black\u201d at least 10 times in his closing\u201d— UNICORN RIOT \ud83e\udd84 mastodon.social/@unicornriot \ud83d\udc48\u2757\u2728 (@UNICORN RIOT \ud83e\udd84 mastodon.social/@unicornriot \ud83d\udc48\u2757\u2728) 1527776842
Reporters were quick to point out that prosecutors used the same evidence that led to Morin's sanctions to build a case against the May 14 group. If anyone from the second group is found guilty, appeals are expected to cite the new findings.
\u201cIt's worth noting that all the evidence Morin called foul on has been permitted by Knowles as we enter closing arguments today. So unfortunately the 05/14 group still faces a lot of hazard.\n\nhttps://t.co/fdfGH1rgw6\u201d— E.C. Hamilton (@E.C. Hamilton) 1527698560
This is a developing story and may be updated...
In a series of victories for civil disobedience rights on Thursday, the U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) dropped charges and dismissed several cases against people involved with the #DisruptJ20 march during President Donald Trump's inauguration, and a federal judge sanctioned prosecutors for lying about evidence.
As Common Dreams has reported, last year "more than 200 anti-Trump demonstrators, legal observers, and journalists were 'indiscriminately' swept up in mass arrests carried out during inauguration protests."
Although a jury found the first group of protesters not guilty of all charges in December, federal prosecutors have continued pursuing cases against 59 of the rounded-up demonstrators--trying them in groups, seeking to imprison them for decades on felony charges, and relying heavily on recordings by the right-wing activist group Project Veritas.
Following a revelation last week that "prosecutors suppressed potentially exculpatory evidence," known as a Brady violation, it was revealed in an overnight filing by defense attorneys that the government concealed 69 Project Veritas audio and video files and altered other recordings.
\u201cThis is prosecutorial misconduct plain and simple. The @USAO_DC has repeatedly abused its power in a quest to lock people up for exercising their First Amendment rights on Inauguration Day. #J20 https://t.co/JaIxLbG6uh\u201d— ACLU of the District of Columbia (@ACLU of the District of Columbia) 1527786183
In response to the new Brady violations, at a pre-trial hearing on Thursday, Superior Court Judge Robert Morin dismissed conspiracy charges with prejudice--meaning that they cannot be refiled--but dismissed lesser charges without prejudice, meaning the government can still pursue those, according to reporters from the Huffington Post and Unicorn Riot.
\u201cJudge Morin dismissed felony charges with prejudice against several #j20 defendants, finding government Brady violations in handling of Project Veritas videos. \n\n\u201cI do think it\u2019s a serious violation,\u201d Morin said, adding government\u2019s conduct was \u201cnot explainable to the court.\u201d\u201d— Ryan J. Reilly (@Ryan J. Reilly) 1527778219
The USAO has dropped felony charges against those in the May 29 trial group--the third group of J20 protesters--and all charges against those in the June 4 group.
\u201cUS Attorney has also dropped all charges against one May 29 trial group defendant, and is dropping all felony charges against other May 29 defendants, still seek to proceed to trial on misdemeanor charges \n#J20 #J20trial\u201d— UNICORN RIOT \ud83e\udd84 mastodon.social/@unicornriot \ud83d\udc48\u2757\u2728 (@UNICORN RIOT \ud83e\udd84 mastodon.social/@unicornriot \ud83d\udc48\u2757\u2728) 1527772701
\u201cThe 3 defendants still facing charges from the scheduled May 29 trial group will now go to trial on Monday. Since all felony charges against them were dismissed, they only face a misdemeanor trial and will be tried in front of a Judge alone, with no jury. \n\n#J20 #J20trial\u201d— UNICORN RIOT \ud83e\udd84 mastodon.social/@unicornriot \ud83d\udc48\u2757\u2728 (@UNICORN RIOT \ud83e\udd84 mastodon.social/@unicornriot \ud83d\udc48\u2757\u2728) 1527775857
However, the revelations about prosecutors concealing evidence and Morin's subsequent ruling have not yet impacted the second trial group. During Morin's hearing on Thursday, closing arguments for the May 14 trial group were taking place on another floor of the same courthouse.
\u201cMost of Assistant US Attorney Qureshi\u2019s closing arguments were word for word the same as in his failed arguments in the first trial. He told jurors that defendants \u201cagreed on January 20 to destroy your city.\u201d Qureshi used the phrase \u201csea of black\u201d at least 10 times in his closing\u201d— UNICORN RIOT \ud83e\udd84 mastodon.social/@unicornriot \ud83d\udc48\u2757\u2728 (@UNICORN RIOT \ud83e\udd84 mastodon.social/@unicornriot \ud83d\udc48\u2757\u2728) 1527776842
Reporters were quick to point out that prosecutors used the same evidence that led to Morin's sanctions to build a case against the May 14 group. If anyone from the second group is found guilty, appeals are expected to cite the new findings.
\u201cIt's worth noting that all the evidence Morin called foul on has been permitted by Knowles as we enter closing arguments today. So unfortunately the 05/14 group still faces a lot of hazard.\n\nhttps://t.co/fdfGH1rgw6\u201d— E.C. Hamilton (@E.C. Hamilton) 1527698560
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