Little evidence of antifa links in U.S. prosecutions of those charged in protest violence
Reuters
Dated: June 10, 2020
By: Sarah N. Lynch, Mica Rosenberg, Brad Heath
The U.S. Justice Department moved swiftly to bring federal charges
against 53 individuals accused of violence during nationwide protests that
swept across the United States calling for an end to police brutality.
Attorney General William Barr promised a crackdown on members of the
anti-fascist movement known as antifa and other “extremists” he blamed for
helping to drive the violence.
But a Reuters examination of federal court records related to the
charges, social media posts by some of the suspects and interviews with defense
lawyers and prosecutors found mostly disorganized acts of violence by people
who have few obvious connections to antifa or other left-wing groups.
Reuters reviewed only federal cases, both because of the allegations by
the Justice Department about the involvement of antifa and similar groups, and
since federal charges generally carry harsher penalties. In some of the
charging documents reviewed by Reuters, no violent acts are alleged at all.
The Department of Justice declined to comment on Reuters’ findings and
referred to an interview that Barr gave to Fox News on Monday. He said there that
while his department had some investigations under way into antifa, it was
still in the “initial phase of identifying people.”
Looting and violence broke out at some of the hundreds of largely
peaceful demonstrations over the past week sparked by the May 25 death of
George Floyd, an African American, after a white Minneapolis police officer
pinned him with a knee to the neck for almost nine minutes.
The policeman, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with second-degree
murder, and three other officers with aiding and abetting.
While Barr and President Donald Trump have repeatedly singled out
antifa, an amorphous movement of primarily leftist anti-authoritarians (the
name is derived from “anti-fascist”), as a major instigator of the unrest, the
term does not appear in any of the federal charging documents reviewed by
Reuters. It is possible that more evidence could emerge as the cases progress.
Only one group was called out by name in a federal complaint: the
so-called boogaloo movement, whose followers, according to prosecutors, believe
in an impending civil war.
Hate group experts say boogaloo’s followers are largely an assortment of
right-wing extremists. Prosecutors alleged three men affiliated with “the
movement” plotted to set off explosives in Las Vegas in the hopes of touching
off rioting before a protest.
The three suspects are scheduled to appear in federal court on Monday
and have not yet entered a plea. Their lawyers did not respond to requests for
comment.
NO CLAIMS OF ALLEGIANCE
In three other criminal complaints, individuals told police about their
ideological leanings without claiming allegiance to any particular group.
In Massachusetts, 18-year-old Vincent Eovacious was charged with
possession of a Molotov cocktail and - according to the complaint against him -
told his arresting officer he was “with the anarchist group.” The U.S.
attorney’s office in the state said there was no additional information on what
that meant.
His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Another man, Brian Bartels, arrested in Pennsylvania for spray painting
and destroying a police vehicle, described himself as “far left” and said he lashed
out in a “fuck-it moment,” according to the charging documents. His lawyer,
Joseph Otte, declined to comment.
A man in Lubbock, Texas, 25-year-old Emmanuel Quinones, brandished an
assault rifle at a protest and shouted: “This is a revolution” and “President
Trump must die” as he was arrested, according to prosecutors. He admitted to
posting messages on social media aimed at intimidating Trump supporters.
Quinones’ attorney declined to comment.
On social media, 17 individuals espoused violence - like threatening to
start riots or harm police - or organized themselves using encrypted
communications, the complaints alleged. Social media profiles reviewed by
Reuters showed a range of views, including anarchism, anti-racism and
anti-government messages.
Ca’Quintez Gibson, 26, was arrested for allegedly using Facebook live
posts and emoji-filled messages to encourage people to loot in Peoria,
Illinois. But John Milhiser, the U.S. attorney in Springfield, Illinois, whose
office is prosecuting the case, told Reuters that Gibson had “no connection”
with any political group or motive. Gibson’s attorney could not immediately be
reached for comment.
Barbara McQuade, who was U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of
Michigan during President Barack Obama’s administration, said prosecutors were
generally cautious about making allegations based on someone’s ideology, owing
to constitutional guarantees of free speech.
Michael German, a former FBI agent and current fellow with the Brennan
Center for Justice, said the government could produce more evidence at trial,
but the “lack of clear indications of involvement of anti-fascists in these
protests I think shows they are not leading in any way the protest violence.”
Still, Trump’s campaign for re-election in November is sending out pleas
for campaign donations touting the president’s “100%” stand against antifa.
Comments
Post a Comment