Prosecution
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A federal judge on Wednesday found that the “selective prosecution” of far-right groups without charging their far-left counterparts for the same acts is “constitutionally impermissible.”
U.S. District Court Judge Cormac Carney of southern California therefore dismissed charges against two men from the “white nationalist” Rise Above Movement (RAM) who violently clashed with members of the far-left group Antifa at three southern California pro-Trump events in 2017.
In his 35-page order, the judge stressed the importance of equal protection under the law. He said that although the two men may have been involved in violent acts, prosecutors were wrong to exclusively target them without also pursuing charges against Antifa members implicated in similar violent actions at political events.
“Such selective prosecution leaves the troubling impression that the government believes speech on the left more deserving of protection than speech on the right,” Judge Carney wrote (pdf).
The judge said that the fundamental principles of the First Amendment rights to free speech and to assemble are the “bedrock” of the United States. This is not always easy, he added, noting that sometimes, people use that right to “spread vitriolic and hateful ideas and beliefs.”
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Now, this judge has been overruled on appeal on somewhat similar cases, but I'd like to see this one (or a similar one) climb the ladder.
If we cannot enforce the law equally, we are just a banana republic with money.
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Now, this judge has been overruled on appeal on somewhat similar cases, but I'd like to see this one (or a similar one) climb the ladder.
If we cannot enforce the law equally, we are just a banana republic with money.
