Nearly 200 inauguration protesters are going on trial
On Inauguration Day in Washington, anarchists and activists tore through the streets for 16 blocks, tossing bricks at police officers, setting trash cans and a limousine on fire and smashing windows, all in opposition to the new commander in chief.
Six officers had to be hospitalized and more than $100,000 in damage was done, resulting in 234 people being arrested or charged with a crime — among them an oncologist nurse, a UPS driver and a full-time nanny.
But 10 months later, well after the fires stopped and the windows replaced, the arrests are no longer minor side notes. A federal grand jury indicted more than 200 people with multiple felonies each. Nearly 200 still face six felony charges — inciting a riot plus five counts of destruction of property — together carrying decades in prison. The protesters originally also faced felony charges of engaging in and conspiracy to riot, but those charges were dropped to misdemeanors on Wednesday. The first trials are scheduled to begin later this month.
In turbulent political times, the trials will pit government and its resources against those who did the damage as well as frustrated activists who claim they were only there voicing their opinions. Others suggest the government is overreaching and trying to prove a point by charging so broadly.
The indictment alleges all the defendants played a part in encouraging and conspiring to form a riot. Collectively, they're accused of damaging two Starbucks, a Bank of America, a D.C. sandwich shop and a McDonald's.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/nearly-200-inauguration-protesters-are-going-on-trial/ar-AAuuDgC?li=BBnbcA1
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