Federal Prosecutors Drop All Remaining Charges Against DisruptJ20 Defendants

As I confessed in my speech at the League of the South national conference, I regret drinking the Donald Trump koolaid in 2015 and 2016.

By the time of the inauguration, I was already growing skeptical of the incoming administration. In January 2017, I was still in a wait and see mode though. It was too early to write off President Trump before he was even sworn into office. We had already made plans to travel to DC so I figured that I would give him a chance, keep an open mind and see what came of his first 100 days.

President Trump vowed to restore law and order during his campaign. “Make America Safe Again” was supposed to be one of the key themes of his presidency. I was disillusioned when my first impression of the Trump administration was seeing violent Antifa riot in the streets of DC as part of their DisruptJ20 campaign. I recall watching them assault MAGApedes outside of the Deploraball.

I was heartened when on the way home Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that hundreds of Antifa were going to be prosecuted for the violence they had perpetrated during the Inauguration. I thought it was the first step in making good on the promise to restore law and order:

“WASHINGTON — The United States attorney’s office for the District of Columbia is dismissing the remaining cases against protesters arrested on the day of Donald J. Trump’s inauguration, ending a legal battle that began more than a year and a half ago.

Federal prosecutors requested Friday in a motion that the charges against the remaining 38 defendants — including one journalist — be dropped. More than 200 people were arrested on Jan. 20, 2017, during demonstrations where some protesters threw rocks and bricks at police officers, set a car on fire and shattered storefront windows.

“After further review, the United States, in the exercise of its discretion, has determined that these matters should be dismissed without prejudice,” read the motion submitted by Jessie K. Liu, the United States attorney for the District of Columbia. …”

They all walked.

In hindsight, I should have known better. I never should have succumbed to the delusion that the system was going to be reformed. It was a mistake to get reinvested in it. I truly wanted to believe that the Trump administration could deal with these violent groups. We’re not going to solve this problem the easy way. It is not going to happen at the ballot box.