U.S. Justice Department faces low conviction rates in federal protester assault cases
What happened
The U.S. Justice Department has failed to secure felony convictions against most of the 102 protesters arrested last year for allegedly assaulting federal authorities in four major cities.
Of the 102 arrests, 41% of the cases were dismissed, according to an Associated Press analysis.
Only 12 of the 102 cases proceeded to trial.
Why it matters
The Justice Department's conviction record in these cases is significantly lower than the typical success rate for federal assault prosecutions, indicating a challenge in obtaining felony verdicts for these specific charges.
Context
In the United States, assault is defined as causing physical harm, unwanted contact, or the threat of such actions, and can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a more serious felony.
Sources 4 sources
This briefing cites 2 publishers across 2 detected independent reporting streams. Some cited articles appear to be syndicated or near-duplicate coverage, so they are not counted as separate corroboration.
- Bangor Daily News As DOJ went after protesters for felony assault, juries and judges were unconvinced Detected as syndicated or near-duplicate coverage.
- Nwaonline DOJ struggles to convict protesters Detected as syndicated or near-duplicate coverage.
- Wikipedia Assault Background reference · Wikipedia text used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Wikipedia Felony Background reference · Wikipedia text used under CC BY-SA 4.0.