Charges against the remaining J20 protesters with no plea deals who were awaiting trial were dropped Friday with prejudice—meaning proscecutors can’t try them again for the 2017 protest.
Hundreds of anti-Trump protesters were arrested on Jan. 20, 2017, for protesting the inauguration of President Donald Trump. The prosecution of the group—using felony charges against protesters and journalists—has been criticized by rights groups and failed miserably in court. Friday’s ruling by D.C. Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Morin, which ordered the charges dropped with prejudice, shuts the door completely on the case.
In a brief interview with Common Dreams, former J20 defendant Dylan Petrohilos said that the dismissal affected every defendant save those whose cases had already gone to trial and those who took plea deals.
“If you did not take a plea, your charges cannot come back,” said Petrohilos. “Which shows the strength of collective defense.”
“Minus pleas, trials, no one’s charges can be brought back,” Petrohilos said.
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