Do not cooperate with fascists

 

It turns out when you have a fascist regime in charge, maybe you can't indict a ham sandwich.

A grand jury of D.C. citizens on Tuesday had denied the Justice Department's request to indict Jones, who was accused of a federal crime for allegedly posting an Instagram threat against President Trump.

[...]

This grand jury's rejection of the Justice Department's request for an indictment was one of at least four such instances in the past week in which a grand jury denied an indictment in the District of Columbia.

"Not only have I never heard of this happening, I've never heard of a prosecutor who's heard of this happening," said former federal prosecutor Brendan Ballou, who served in the U.S. Attorney's Office for in D.C. until January 2025.

"This is not the fault of career prosecutors, but rather the office's failure—again and again—to secure indictments suggests that the administration has absolutely destroyed its credibility with jurors," Ballou told CBS News.

  CBS

This is Trump's DOJ now.

Another former federal prosecutor, Victor Salgado, said, "It is exceptionally rare for federal grand juries to reject proposed charges, given the low evidentiary bar for indictment and the Justice Department's policy of pursuing cases only when there is sufficient evidence to both secure and sustain a conviction."

[...]

In a separate case, multiple people familiar with the decision said a grand jury refused a Justice Department request to indict Sean Dunn, who was accused of throwing a sandwich at a federal agent in August. Dunn is a former Justice Department employee who was fired after news circulated of his arrest in the sandwich case. The Justice Department has instead filed a new misdemeanor count against Dunn, which does not require a grand jury indictment.

Court records reviewed by CBS News said a D.C. grand jury also rejected a Justice Department request to indict Sydney Reid, who was arrested in July for allegedly attempting to interfere with the transfer of an alleged gang member into immigration custody.

"As Reid tried to impede the transfer, one of the (officers) pushed her against the wall and told her to stop," the Justice Department alleged in a complaint. "Reid continued to struggle and fight with the officer."

The Justice Department acknowledged in a court filing on Aug. 25 in Reid's case that "[a]n Indictment has not been returned."

Last week, a D.C. grand jury also declined to indict Alvin Summers, who was accused of swinging his arms at a U.S. Park Police officer after a foot chase on Aug. 15.

[...]

The charges against Mr. Summers were based on an allegation made by one officer who was wearing a body-worn camera. That officer's testimony was rejected by the grand jury, presumably after reviewing the body-worn camera video."

The Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss Summers's case on Aug. 29.