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““Analyzing court documents for each of these cases, we uncovered a pattern of aggressive federal prosecutions for crimes not usually in the purview of U.S. attorney’s offices. Charges for civil unrest, such as burning a police vehicle, looting, or property destruction, might typically be handled by state prosecutor’s offices, according to experts we spoke with. During Barack Obama’s entire presidency, we could only identify 11 cases related to protests and uprisings prosecuted by U.S. attorneys, and only one in which someone was charged with promoting or encouraging a riot. By comparison, we identified at least five charges of inciting a riot — under a rarely used statute dating back to 1968 — during this one week in Donald Trump’s term, including those against Betts”.

— Read Full Article - The Intercept

“Christian was mortified, but agreed to sign away his right to protests so he could leave jail – he had spent nine days locked up. “I’m guilty until proven innocent,” he said recently on the phone. “We’re in a police state, and the last thing the police want is for me to be out there using my voice.””

“The vast majority involve defendants tied to leftist actions such as BLM or anti-fascism, though a small handful have far-right affiliations, according to Michael Loadenthal, director of the project and a Georgetown University professor.”

“Loadenthal noted several other patterns. Prosecutors have classified at least 80 cases as involving “interstate” crimes, a move that increases the potential sentence. But the justifications for this enhancement were sometimes flimsy.“

Read Full Article - The Guardian.

“Rights groups say prosecutors are trying to quash anti-racism protests with excessive charges threatening long prison terms.”

“It fit a pattern. Since protests against racism and police brutality began protesters across the country have been hit with punitive, felony charges for acts of civil disobedience, in what civil rights experts say is a “suppression tactic” aimed at quashing the anti-racism movement.”

Read The Full Article - The Guardian

“Through her work, she said, she was aware that some undocumented immigrants had been in the detention center for at least two months after an arrest, without a court hearing.”

“For me, it was like, if I am in this place, there’s no certain timeline when I will see daylight,” she said.”

“By the time she was transferred to immigration authorities, an officer there told her she, too, would be let out that morning. She had no idea that hundreds of calls and texts had been made on her behalf. And still, her lawyer was skeptical.”

Read The Full Article - The New York Times”

“Federal agents and prosecutors have shown predictable leniency for far-right groups, however armed and deadly. Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old Trump fan, traveled across state lines to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he shot dead two Black Lives Matter protesters. He is not facing federal “interstate” charges. Leaked Department of Homeland Security memos revealed, too, that its federal agents were advised to publicly support the right-wing teen and claim that he “took his rifle to the scene of the rioting to help defend small business owners.””

Read the Full Article - The Intercept”