Julie Kelly: Vindictive Justice Department Will Re-Try the Two Remaining Whitmer "Fednapping" Defendants

"Fednapping," LOL.

They cannot win this case. But the point is not to win. The point is to punish through endless lawless process.

You will be made to bow.

Despite a humiliating defeat in what the Justice Department considered one of its biggest domestic terror investigations in recent history, federal prosecutors announced they will re-try two men who were not acquitted last week on charges of conspiring to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020.

Chief District Court Judge Robert Jonker declared a mistrial on April 8 after a jury in western Michigan could not agree on the guilt of Adam Fox, the so-called ringleader, and Barry Croft, Jr. related to the alleged plot; two other men, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta, were found not guilty on all charges and went home last Friday night after spending 18 months in jail.

Defense attorneys argued the men were entrapped by the FBI, which the jury presumably believed in the case of Harris and Caserta. Numerous FBI experts and agents took the stand for the government, as did Dan Chappel, the lead informant and one of his FBI handlers. The three-week trial exposed a wide-ranging operation inside the FBI and Justice Department to target the men--who did not know each other until the FBI got involved--infiltrate the group with informants and undercover agents, create encrypted group chats monitored by the FBI, plan and fund excursions including a surveillance trip to Whitmer's summer cottage, secretly record every conversation including when the targets were high on marijuana, and drive several defendants to the arrest site in October 2020 under a phony pretense.

Nonetheless, Andrew Birge, assistant U.S. Attorney for Western Michigan, confirmed this week his office plans to again prosecute Fox and Croft; Birge's office told a Grand Rapids television station on Monday that charges will be refiled.

There were more federal agents in this "conspiracy" than actual "conspirators." And that's not an exaggeration; that's the actual math.

Meanwhile, the very same Department of Justice settled with the violent riot organization Black Lives Matter, agreeing to limit the police's ability to deploy gas and other non-lethal methods to force violent protesters to disperse.

Isn't that convenient? One hand of the revolution sues, the other hand of the revolution settles, and together, both hands pull the pillars of society down.

Today, the Department of Justice announced that it has reached an agreement to settle claims in four civil cases arising from the June 1, 2020, law enforcement response to racial justice demonstrations in Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C.

As part of the settlement, the United States Park Police (USPP) and the United States Secret Service (USSS) agreed to update and clarify their policies governing demonstrations, and to implement the policy changes within 30 days of today's settlement. The plaintiffs, Black Lives Matter D.C. and individuals who attended the protests, agreed to dismiss their claims for equitable relief against the United States.

Changes to the agency's policies include more specific requirements for visible identification of officers, limits on the use of non-lethal force and procedures to facilitate safe crowd dispersal.

...

USPP's updated policy, which it released today, will:

- Require officers to wear fully visible badges and nameplates including on outerwear, tactical gear and helmets;

- Implement guidelines concerning the use of non-lethal force, including de-escalation tactics;

- Adopt clearer procedures for issuing dispersal warnings and permitting demonstrators to disperse; and

Also, the US Secret Service will amend its policies to specify that just because some demonstrators have repeatedly engaged in violence in the past does not mean they should be suspected of harboring the desire to become violent again.

No, really:

Within the next 30 days, the USSS will:

- Amend its policies to provide that the fact that some demonstrators have engaged in unlawful conduct does not ordinarily provide blanket grounds for use of force, crowd dispersal or declaration of unlawful assembly.

Gee I wonder if that new rule will also apply to the Oath Keepers or Proud Boys or nah.

Relatedly, a January 6 defendant plans to put Trump at the center of his defense, claiming that the president authorized the Capitol breach and that any fault must lie with him.

A man charged with breaching the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, told jurors Wednesday he believed he was following "presidential orders" to go inside the building and attempt to prevent Congress from finalizing the 2020 election.

Dustin Thompson -- who is facing charges on attempting to obstruct Congress' electoral vote-counting session, as well as for stealing a coat tree from a Capitol office -- argues that then President Donald Trump's apocalyptic rhetoric on Jan. 6...

"Apocalyptic." You're the objective truth-telling neutral reporters, right?

... capping a monthslong campaign to convince supporters the election was stolen...

It was. Oh wait, what's the term the conspirators settled on...? Oh yes: The election was "fortified" against the possibility of a result the left didn't like.

...drove him to join the mob that breached the building.

In college, some friends and I raided an administrative building late at night and stole this giant throne-like chair, which we then installed in our campus apartment. Okay, I'm lying, I wasn't part of the raid, but it was in my apartment, so I'm sure I could have gotten in trouble for Harboring Fugitive Furnishings.

I probably would have gotten off when I agreed to testify against my friends, but then that would have weighed (lightly) on my conscience, so I still would have paid a (trifling) price.

Anyway, none of us thought we'd get into serious trouble for this Theft of the Century.

But this guy is being threatened with seven federal counts:

Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting; Theft of Government Property; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Parading, Demonstrating or Picketing in a Capitol Building

Repetitive counts of disorderly and "disruptive" conduct, "parading," "demonstrating," and for stealing a bottle of liquor and a coat tree.

Other people have been sentenced to four fucking years in prison for this penny-ante college-lark bullshit.

posted by Ace at 04:16 PM

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