No More Deaths activist trial ends in hung jury

I can't believe they prosecuted him in the first place.  America should hang its head in shame.

A Tucson jury on Tuesday was unable to convict a man for giving food and temporary shelter to a pair of Central American migrants who snuck into the country last year.

Unfortunately, the jury also was unable to declare that he’s in the clear.

And so we wait to see if the U.S. Justice Department will try, try again to lock up a 36-year-old geography teacher from Ajo.

Scott Warren’s trial, in U.S. District Court in Tucson, has captured nationwide attention, as it should – when offering humanitarian aid is a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

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Warren [is] a former ASU instructor who volunteers his time putting out water jugs and food for migrants in the unforgiving southern Arizona desert.

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“In the time since I was arrested in January 2018, no fewer than 88 bodies were recovered from the Arizona desert,” he told reporters. “The government’s plan in the midst of this humanitarian crisis? Policies to target undocumented people, refugees and their families. Prosecutions to criminalize humanitarian aid, kindness and solidarity.” Before Donald Trump became president, federal prosecutors generally turned a blind eye to humanitarian groups that refused to stand by while people died in the desert. Instead, prosecutors went after smugglers and those who turned a profit from illegal immigration.

That all changed in 2017, when then-Attorney Genereal Jeff Sessions declared it a priority to go after anyone harboring undocumented immigrants.

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[T]he Border Patrol arrested Warren on the day they were staking out the No More Deaths staging area. His arrest came just hours after No More Deaths released a video showing Border Patrol agents destroying water jugs in the desert.

The jury debated for two days and was unable to determine whether Scott Warren crossed the line by providing two men with food, water and shelter.

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“Do I think it is wrong to arrest a person who is helping criminals avoid prosecution for violating our laws? Absolutely not,” wrote William of Goodyear. “It amazes me that you Liberals would rather see America destroyed than to admit you lost an election.”

What a world. When a geography teacher offering food, water and temporary shelter to a couple of migrants is the first step in the path to the destruction of America.

  AZ Central