DOJ Uses Civil Rights-Era Law To Charge Protesters And Insurrectionists wcsufm.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wcsufm.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo rioters try to break through a police barrier at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Federal prosecutors have brought hundreds of cases against people who stormed the Capitol that day. Nearly a quarter of those charged in the attack face a charge of civil disorder. John Minchillo
Originally published on May 7, 2021 8:47 am
Federal law enforcement in Portland announced last summer they were going to step up efforts to prosecute people who committed crimes during nightly protests outside the federal courthouse.
“There was certainly a sense that something needed to be done,” said former Oregon U.S. Attorney Billy Williams, who at the time was part of the federal government’s response.
Biden Justice Department wields controversial Trump-era legal tools
Federal prosecutors are invoking a 1968-era statute to pursue rioters, spurring accusations of racism.
Federal prosecutors have employed a controversial 1968-era statute in recent weeks to charge dozens of suspects arrested in the Capitol riot in January. | Win McNamee/Getty Images
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President Joe Biden’s Justice Department is defending its use of an anti-riot statute that critics say is racist a tool the Trump-era DOJ made aggressive use of to pursue some of those accused of violence in connection with last year’s racial justice protests.
Making matters more complicated: Federal prosecutors have employed the controversial statute in recent weeks to charge dozens of suspects arrested in the Capitol riot in January, many of them affiliated with groups that espouse white supremacist views.