More than 200 protesters indicted on rioting charges from Inauguration Day

[NRaleighLiberal]

Source: CNN

Madison Park

(CNN)A total of 214 people have been indicted so far on felony rioting charges in connection with the Inauguration Day protests in downtown Washington.

On the morning of January 20, protests over Donald Trump's inauguration turned violent when black-clad "anti-fascist" protesters smashed storefronts and bus stops, hammered out the windows of a limousine and eventually launched rocks at a phalanx of police.

Officers responded by launching smoke and flash-bang devices into the street to disperse the crowds. Six police officers were injured and 230 protesters were arrested that day.

On Tuesday, a grand jury in DC charged five individuals. This was in addition to the 209 other defendants who've been indicted on rioting charges earlier this month.

snip

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/22/politics/trump-inauguration-protesters-indictment/index.html?adkey=bn

[uppityperson]

1. I wonder how many of those "black-coated" they arrested

[woundedkarma]

2. felonies? that's insane

I doubt any of the people who were arrested actually did anything..

Anyone with knowledge have opinions on how likely convictions are?

[yardwork]

3. Another step into fascism. Harsh crackdowns on legal protests.

The people who voted third party or who "couldn't bring themselves" to vote for the Democratic nominee may be surprised to find out how bad things are going to get.

By the time they figure out that there really was a big difference between the two candidates, it may be too late.

Unfortunately we will all suffer for their egoism and willful ignorance.

[brooklynite]

6. You realize that this is the DC Government, not the Feds?

Last time I checked it was under Democratic leadership.

[KingCharlemagne]

8. On what are you basing that assertion? The article does not say whether the

Grand Jury was municipal or federal. Not saying you're incorrect, simply that that the article is rather sketchy on jurisdictional authority.

[brooklynite]

9. "D.C. prosecutors link violent protests on Inauguration Day to black bloc tactics"

Washington Post:

D.C. prosecutors Tuesday for the first time alleged that more than 200 protesters arrested during the Jan. 20 inauguration of President Trump used so-called “black bloc” tactics, with participants setting out to cause violence and attempting to disguise their identities by covering their faces with masks and scarves.

The allegations came as prosecutors announced a superseding indictment against 214 people who face a charge of felony rioting. One of those people also was charged with assaulting police officers. Others were linked to specific damage, including the torching of a limousine and smashed windows at a McDonald’s restaurant and a Starbucks coffee shop.

The “black bloc” tactics have been used for decades across Europe and, more recently, in the United States. They were used during protests in Portland, Ore., in November and at the University of California at Berkeley this month.

D.C. prosecutors said the Inauguration Day rioters wore black or dark-colored clothes, including scarves, ski masks and gas masks, to “conceal their identities in an effort to prevent law enforcement from being able to identify the individual perpetrators of violence or destruction.”

D.C. police have stressed that most people who demonstrated on Inauguration Day did so peacefully.

A little extra research never hurts

[KingCharlemagne]

10. Thanks (I guess). IANAL, but I thought 'felony' indictments required some

sort of state or federal jurisdiction, not a municipal jurisdiction. Not sure how that plays out in D.C., which has a special status.

[dchill]

11. +1

[yardwork]

13. I realize that Trump has a lot of influence in D.C.

This kind of respose to protests is new.

[brooklynite]

15. Arresting people for violence is new?

If you have evidence that the people indicted were not the people causing the violence, please provide it.

[George II]

7. This has nothing to do with the republican administration. People seem to think that....

....the federal government took over every local government in the country at noon on January 20.

[yardwork]

12. D.C. never did this to protesters before. What changed?

[Abouttime]

4. Freedom fighters not rioters

I have nothing but respect for these resistors, we should all support them.
Is there a legal fund?

[Bonx]

14. We need to support storefront smashers.

[LanternWaste]

16. As well as idiots destroying British tea shipments

As well as idiots destroying British tea shipments. Malcontents, the lot of 'em!

I empathize with your desire for simplistic and linear reasoning; yet I'm afraid you'll one day find out convenience of thought does not equal rational thought. I hope it goes well.

[Bonx]

18. I think you actually believe this.

I think you actually believe this.

[IronLionZion]

5. They're making an example out of them

throwing the book at them as a deterrent. They know Trump will inspire a lot of resistance

[yallerdawg]

17. Civil disobedience, disorder, vandalism and violence...

have an acknowledged consequence.

That's why they try to hide their identity.

We can support them and respect them - but they are not "peaceful protesters." They'll have their day in court, like many have in the past.

[rug]

19. If you have to be indicted, Riot is the way to go.

My favorite arrest was for "Concerned in Affray" in Boston but it was only a misdemeanor.