Angel Russell/KCBX
A San Luis Obispo County superior court judge ruled Friday the county district attorney’s office is disqualified from prosecuting local Black Lives Matter organizer Tiana Arata and six others.
Because the judge found a “clear conflict of interest,” District Attorney Dan Dow and his office is now disqualified from further prosecuting a criminal case against Arata and other BLM protestors, because Dow “sought political and professional benefit and campaign contributions in conjunction with the prosecution,” of Arata and the other defendants’ cases, according to court records.
In a granted motion to disqualify, Judge Matthew Guerrero lists several instances of Dow publicly airing his views and displaying ‘animosity’ to the Black Lives Matter movement. He ultimately found Arata and defendants Marcus Montegomery, Amman Asfaw, Joshua Powell, Robert Lastra, Sam Frocott and Dylan Hill would not be able to receive fair treatment during all portions of t