Report Shows DOJ Engaged In Selective Prosecution To Maximize Punishment For 'Black Lives Matter' Protesters

from the once-again,-DOJ-showing-it-really-should-have-the-word-'justice'-in-its dept

Under Trump, the DOJ did all it could to break the spirit of the Black Lives Matter movement that took on renewed vigor last spring following yet another killing of an unarmed black person by a white cop. That's according to a report [PDF] by The Movement for Black Lives, which examined BLM-related prosecutions headed by federal prosecutors.

The federal government deliberately targeted Black Lives Matter protesters via heavy-handed criminal prosecutions in an attempt to disrupt and discourage the global movement that swept the nation last summer in the wake of the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, according to a new report released Wednesday by The Movement for Black Lives.

[...]

The report also points to the stark difference in how the government handled the COVID-19 protests against local government shutdowns and mask mandates amid the pandemic during the same period. It analyzes 326 criminal cases initiated by U.S. federal prosecutors over alleged conduct related to protests in the wake of Floyd's murder and the police killings of other Black Americans, from May 31, 2020, to Oct. 25, 2020.

The report's most damning conclusions point to a DOJ headed by Bill Barr -- one that swiftly aligned itself with President Trump and his assertions the social justice protests were largely composed of criminals and anarchists, rather than peaceful protesters seeking to change an unjust justice system.

The report points out the federal government needlessly took control of prosecutions, exploiting loosely-defined "interstate commerce" statutes to bring federal charges against arrested protesters -- charges that carried steeper sentences than similar state-level charges.

For example, the federal arson statute, 18 U.S.C. § 844, has subsections which not only vest federal jurisdiction over offenses against any property which belongs to an entity which receives any federal funding but against any property which simply affects interstate commerce. This report found that the broad parameters of the statute were heavily utilized against defendants who had allegedly damaged or attempted to damage local police vehicles, police precincts, or government buildings and/or property. Unfortunately, because federal courts have accepted such arguments in the past, the government’s argument to support a finding of federal jurisdiction in these cases on interstate commerce grounds was to simply assert that these local governmental entities affect interstate commerce. Where the government attempted to establish federal jurisdiction because the entity received some federal funding, criminal complaints would simply assert, often without any reference to government funding data, that the local government or police department received some form of federal financial assistance—as nearly all local governments and police departments do.

Federal prosecutors also used super-thin assertions about an interstate nexus to stack charges.

Prosecutors are charging Lore-Elisabeth Blumenthal with four counts of arson for allegedly attempting to burn two police vehicles. Prosecutors are bringing multiple counts for each attempted arson by relying on separate provisions of the federal arson statute, claiming that the police vehicles belonged to a police department which received federal funding, which implicates 18 U.S.C. § 844(f), and because the same police vehicles affected interstate commerce, which implicates 18 U.S.C. § 844(i). As a result, Blumenthal now faces the possibility of being convicted on four separate counts, each of which carries a minimum sentence of five and a maximum of twenty years in federal prison.

Even the damage of local businesses by rioters was taken over by federal prosecutors, who used flimsy pretexts like the purchase of supplies from out-of-state suppliers to satisfy the interstate commerce requirements.

And, in one case detailed in the report, a man is facing felon-in-possession charges for carrying supplies capable of creating a Molotov cocktail. According to federal prosecutors, a Molotov cocktail (even in an unassembled state) qualifies as a "firearm." And the interstate nexus was satisfied because the empty bottle was made by an out-of-state manufacturer.

Hoping to deter future protests by making ongoing protests as painful as possible for those arrested, federal prosecutors let their imaginations run wild.

Prosecutors are charging Tia Deyon for civil disorder for allegedly breaking the window of a city police vehicle in Mobile, Alabama. In order to argue that federal jurisdiction exists, the government used an unusually specious basis, even among the more egregious charges here. The government argued that her actions impacted interstate commerce because the larger group of protesters Pugh was a part of was moving in the direction of an interstate highway. The group never reached the highway, because local police preemptively shut down the on-ramps providing access to the highway. The government claims its own preemptive shut down of the on-ramps caused traffic delays and therefore impacted interstate commerce.

While the DOJ and the president said things about "violent protesters" (and unintelligible, unsupportable things about "dangerous antifa"), this was the reality of the situation. Even non-violent quasi-crimes were being exaggerated by federal prosecutors to ensure maximum punishment for minimal infractions.

Unsurprisingly, the data does not support the government’s claims of violence and intimidation. There are numerous cases where the federal government filed charges against people for conduct as minor as failing to obey an order from a federal agent, or for pointing a laser pointer in the direction of the police (not at a particular officer). In one Department of Justice press release characterizing the movement as hijacked by “violent agitators” based on 74 federalized criminal cases, 37 cases were for assaulting an officer—a misnomer when considering the offending conduct included things like pointing lasers at law enforcement or using, as federal agents themselves described, “flimsy” plastic shields in encounters with law enforcement; 17 cases were for failing to obey a lawful order, a nonviolent (in)action; and 11 of those cases involved charges for conduct so minor, the defendants were issued citation violations.

Predictably, most of these prosecutions originated in Portland, Oregon, the first place Donald Trump sent his federal strikebreakers police force to handle protests in the so-called "anarchist jurisdiction." And it wasn't just about putting people who believe black lives matter back in their place. The DOJ's selective prosecutions were also apparently politically-motivated, resulting in a different kind of overrepresentation in federal cases.

Of the 326 federal cases reviewed, 271 (83%) were brought in states with Democratic governors, with only 56 (17%) brought in states with Republican governors. [...] This disparity is even more stark when considering that, at the time of the uprising, the proportion of states with Republican leadership (54%) exceeded that of states with Democratic leadership (46%).

The DOJ barely bothered to disguise its desire to disrupt the Black Lives Matter movement and quell dissent targeting law enforcement agencies. The man running the country made no attempt at all to disguise his contempt for everyone who questioned law enforcement agencies or the tactics of their officers. The stats compiled here make it clear the DOJ engaged in targeted prosecutions meant to deliver maximum pain to those the former president considered to be political or ideological enemies.

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Filed Under: anarchist jurisdictions, antifa, bill barr, black lives matter, doj, protests, selective prosecution


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  • icon
    Samuel Abram (profile), 25 Aug 2021 @ 12:51pm

    In other news…

    water is wet, the pope is catholic, and Koby is a disingenuous troll.

    This should have been blatantly obvious to anyone who was paying even the slightest modicum of attention. Glad it's being confirmed.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Stephen T. Stone (profile), 25 Aug 2021 @ 1:47pm

    There remains an unanswered⁠—or at least unasked⁠—question: How often did the Trump DoJ do for right-wing rioters/militias/terrorist groups what it did for Black Lives Matter/left-wing protestors?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 25 Aug 2021 @ 1:48pm

    Not surprised! Now it's out in the open as to what they did, what's gonna be done about it? I'll bet a dime, not a fucking thing!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Shel10 (profile), 26 Aug 2021 @ 9:20am

      Re:

      I think that Nancy's final act before retiring from Congress is to hang Donald Trump from a scaffold to erected in the Rose Garden.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 25 Aug 2021 @ 2:10pm

    And the rhetoric from the right wingers will highlight this. They'll go on and on about how antifa and BLM protesters destroyed things and killed people, even when you can show that boogaloo bois were involved in the violence and destruction, and they'll completely ignore Proud Boys and anti-vaxxers and governor-abduction plots and capitol insurrections, etc.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Ninja (profile), 25 Aug 2021 @ 2:42pm

      Re:

      Bigotry is very hard to argue with.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 25 Aug 2021 @ 4:04pm

      Re:

      Even though there are very few practicing communists in America, even less active politically, and modern antifa are, at best, Democrat-aligned and not more leftist.

      The Soviet Union died, folks, where are these commie agents and their insurrection manuals.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Hugo S Cunningham (profile), 26 Aug 2021 @ 7:40am

      Re: "It was the other guys in disguise!"

      "...boogaloo bois were involved in the violence and destruction..."

      We all reacted with contempt when some on the Far Right blamed the destruction and violence of the Jan 6 Putsch on Antifa. But they may have been inspired by those who tried to blame the destruction of last summer's riots on far-Right provocateurs. Significant evidence for it did not pan out. The looters and arsonists may have been opportunists and professional criminals rather than progressive activists, but they were not Far Right. It might be instructive to note that defenses of looting appeared on some progressive and anti-police websites, but not on far-right websites.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
      icon
      Lostinlodos (profile), 26 Aug 2021 @ 2:48pm

      Re:

      If your referring to Michigan, you should review that case. The government agents controlled and directed the attempt directly. It was framed as a Trump incitement.
      The those involved (including the fees) were mostly anti-trump. The lead member known for his anti-trump tantrums.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Lostinlodos (profile), 26 Aug 2021 @ 2:48pm

      Re:

      If your referring to Michigan, you should review that case. The government agents controlled and directed the attempt directly. It was framed as a Trump incitement.
      The those involved (including the fees) were mostly anti-trump. The lead member known for his anti-trump tantrums.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 25 Aug 2021 @ 2:31pm

    Report Shows DOJ Engaged In Selective Prosecution To Maximize Punishment For 'Black Lives Matter' Protesters

    And the reason for those protests is...... persecution by the authorities.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      That One Guy (profile), 25 Aug 2021 @ 2:39pm

      'Respect the authoritah!'

      Well you know how it goes, when all you have/want is a cudgel every problem looks like something you need to beat into submission.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Ninja (profile), 25 Aug 2021 @ 2:40pm

    Racism

    Yet more evidence that racism is pervasive in the US government. Unless action is taken on this evidence including but not limited to making the public servants that allowed this to move ahead and the ones that ordered it accountable nothing will change.
    It is interesting to see that despite all the violence against BLM protesters, both physical and legal, the movement did not lose traction. These guys, girls and all have my respect.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Thad (profile), 25 Aug 2021 @ 3:03pm

    The man running the country made no attempt at all to disguise his contempt for everyone who questioned law enforcement agencies or the tactics of their officers.

    Unless they were criticizing Comey. Or Rosenstein. Or Mueller. Or Sessions. Or Barr. Or the capitol police.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    That Anonymous Coward (profile), 25 Aug 2021 @ 4:16pm

    Pity they never seem to manage this much effort when a black man is murdered but someone broke a window & its a federal case.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Glenn, 25 Aug 2021 @ 5:29pm

    Right... "justice" ...brought to you by the same people who, together with their supporters, tried to tear down America, our democracy, and our Capitol... and they're still trying.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    icon
    Shel10 (profile), 26 Aug 2021 @ 9:17am

    Nothing about all the selective enforcement policies of Obama's "I got your back" attorney general?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      That One Guy (profile), 26 Aug 2021 @ 11:46am

      Re:

      So glad I never tossed the bingo card with 'But Obama' on it even if it's utterly absurd that it's still getting use.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Lostinlodos (profile), 26 Aug 2021 @ 2:52pm

    Facts missing?

    One issue with that report, before reading it.
    “ “Of the 326 federal cases reviewed”

    In reality the anti police protests that turned into violent riots were mostly in blue states. NY, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Cal, DC…

    So the premise is disingenuous.
    I’ll read the report, but that alone makes the conclusions questionable.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 26 Aug 2021 @ 3:00pm

      Re: Facts missing?

      And the feds were sent to blue states by the command of Trump, creating a self fulfilling prophecy.

      link to this | view in chronology ]


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