Tag: protesters

Free speech wins

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Pepper Sprayed

Why would they even prosecute these people?

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal prosecutors continued their losing streak Wednesday in the ongoing mass trials of anti-Trump protesters arrested in Washington, D.C. on Inauguration Day.

Jurors found another defendant, Seth Cadman, not guilty on eight separate charges of malicious destruction of property. Cadman stood hand in hand with his two co-defendants, the trio giving each other little squeezes each time the foreperson answered “not guilty” to the judge’s reading off of charges.

But the panel was deadlocked on a ninth charge, “engaging in a riot,” after several days of deliberations. Judge Kimberly Knowles declared a mistrial on that ninth charge, which prosecutors may still pursue if they choose later this summer.

Wednesday’s defeat is a more significant setback for the prosecution than prior acquittals. This trio of defendants are the first who the government said it could prove individually broke windows or scrapped with police on the day. The jury did not believe the government’s evidence that Cadman had struck out in anger on January 20, 2017.

Occupy Congress

~ odd man out

An early dispatch from D.C., where protesters are still gathering:

Demonstrators from the Occupy movement rallied outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday to protest against the influence of money on Congress.

In a sign of renewed vigor for the Occupy movement, which staged protests in many U.S. cities last fall, several hundred protesters gathered on the Capitol’s West Front Lawn to greet members of Congress returning from a holiday break with a day of rallies and protests they said would include attempts to occupy lawmakers’ offices.

Occupy protesters from around the country who gathered on the rain-soaked lawn carried signs saying, “Face it liberals, the Dems sold us out,” “Congress for sale” and “Congress is not for sale.”

“It’s important to let people know we’re not going to take it anymore. People are really mad about the way things are going and we want Congress to understand that,” said protester James Cullen, a 30-year-old unemployed social worker fromGreenbelt, Maryland.

The morning demonstration was peaceful. Police said one protester had been arrested for assaulting a police officer.

The protest against Congress comes as a record 84 percent of Americans say they disapprove of the way Washington lawmakers are doing their job, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll published on Monday.