Particle.news
Download on the App Store
5 ARTICLES
·
yesterday

AP Review: DOJ Protest Cases Falter as Felony Counts Are Cut and Trials Are Lost

The findings highlight evidentiary gaps that have undercut the administration’s crackdown.

Sidney Reid, 44, of Washington, poses for a portrait near where she was arrested while protesting immigration detentions, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
FILE - Police and federal officers deploy gas canisters to disperse protesters near a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland, Ore. on Oct. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)
FILE - California National Guard are positioned at the Federal Building on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)
FILE - A protester is detained outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

Overview

  • The AP examined 166 federal cases in Washington, Los Angeles, Portland and Chicago, finding 55 of 100 initial felony assault charges reduced to misdemeanors or dismissed.
  • Prosecutors lost every misdemeanor trial cited, including acquittals of Sean Charles Dunn in Washington, D.C., and Katherine Carreño in Los Angeles.
  • Video and witness accounts frequently contradicted initial allegations, leading to dropped cases such as those against Dana Briggs in Chicago and Lucy Shepherd in Portland.
  • Prosecutors secured felony indictments for 58 defendants, yet none of those cases had reached trial as of the Dec. 18 report.
  • While DHS reported 238 assaults on ICE personnel through Nov. 24 and DOJ vows to pursue serious charges, the AP found no cases labeling defendants as domestic terrorists or formally tied to “antifa.”