Over 230 people arrested by D.C. police during the protests are being threatened with felony prosecutions. But it’s beginning to look like none will be convicted. That’s because the cops made no effort to distinguish between rioters and innocent journalists, nonviolent protesters, and bystanders. They simply rounded up everyone and charged them all with rioting. The National Lawyers Guild says the police “indiscriminately targeted people for arrest en masse based on location alone,” and the police reports and charging documents confirm that the only basis for charges against most of the defendants is that “crimes were occurring in the presence of police.” Eyewitnesses say the violence was committed by a handful of individuals. If the police intend to prosecute the entire crowd because they can’t identify individual perpetrators, then everyone will go free, because it’s not a crime to simply be present where a crime is being committed. For more details, see this and this.
Photos: It wasn’t that hard to identify and arrest the rioters
