D.C. Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz, a former homicide prosecutor who has generally issued rulings favorable to the prosecution, issued a judgment of acquittal on a felony count of inciting a riot, ruling that no reasonable juror could have found any of the defendants guilty of that charge based on the evidence presented by the government. But she allowed the rest of the charges ― two misdemeanor rioting charges and five felonies in connection with property destruction ― to go to the jury.
Some of the defense attorneys have portrayed the case as the Trump administration’s attempt to crack down on anti-Trump speech, pointing out to jurors that the attorneys prosecuting the case work for the Justice Department. The Justice Department has 94 U.S. attorney’s offices throughout the country, but the District of Columbia office is unique in that it handles both federal and local crimes, which would normally be handled by local prosecutors.
“The United States of America, ladies and gentlemen ― you saw the logo on there, the Justice Department logo ― comes here, I submit to you, seeking to criminalize Mr. Harris’s First Amendment rights,” argued Steven McCool, a former federal prosecutor who is defending Harris, one of the six people on trial in the case.
Sara Kropf, an attorney representing Lawson — a cancer nurse who had to quit her job due to the trial — also implied that the case was being driven by top Justice Department leaders like Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
“That’s who they are. Not our local prosecutors. The federal government. We know who they report to,” Kropf said. “This is about politics.”
Attorneys also suggested the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is only pursuing the case to protect the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, which appears to have violated D.C. regulations laying out how law enforcement is supposed to handle demonstrations in the nation’s capital. Video showed officers shooting pepper spray with abandon and using questionable force against individuals who didn’t appear to pose any threat.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kerkhoff, who led the prosecution, told jurors that the defendants were privileged and entitled for suggesting that D.C. police follow their rules and issue a dispersal order before conducting a mass arrest.
Defense attorneys also zeroed in on the biases of Metropolitan Police Department Detective Gregg Pemberton, who has been investigating the inauguration unrest every working day since Jan. 20. Pemberton had sent anti-activist tweets and written disparagingly about Black Lives Matter.
This story has been updated to include the statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.
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