Federal prosecutors dropped all remaining criminal charges against four people indicted in October for protesting outside an immigration detention center in Broadview, Illinois. The decision followed a meeting about redactions to grand jury transcripts and came after earlier setbacks in the Broadview Six prosecutions. Prosecutors had already dismissed conspiracy charges and had previously dropped charges against two defendants. The remaining defendants had faced misdemeanor allegations of impeding a federal officer. Prosecutors said the protesters’ conduct was unacceptable in a civilized society, even as they abandoned further efforts. The protests involved allegations of surrounding an immigration agent’s van, banging and pushing, scratching “pig” on the vehicle, and breaking a windshield wiper, with protesters reportedly met by tear gas, pepper balls, and rubber pellets.
"The Broadway Six prosecutions began to fall apart in April when questions about grand jury transcripts surfaced and prosecutors declined to make further allegations against the demonstrators. Prosecutors had dropped charges against two of the defendants before Thursday. But the four remaining defendants faced misdemeanor charges of impeding a federal officer, though prosecutors had dismissed conspiracy charges against them."
#immigration-enforcement #protest-and-civil-disobedience #federal-criminal-charges #grand-jury-transcripts #trump-administration
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]