2 months ago
Federal prosecutors person dropped criminal charges against a female accused of participating successful a controversial January protest astatine a Minnesota religion aft nan female apparently did not be nan arena astatine all.
Prosecutors notified a national judge they intended to driblet charges against Heather Danae Lewis, who was 1 of 30 group charged successful relationship pinch an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protestation that disrupted a work astatine Cities religion successful St Paul. Officials person charged nan protesters pinch civilian authorities crimes, saying they interfered pinch nan correct of nan congregants astatine nan religion to workout their belief beliefs. The media master Don Lemon, who was astatine nan arena reporting connected nan protest, was among those charged.
Charging documents filed successful February opportunity Lewis was among a group that gathered successful nan parking batch of a supermarket, Cub Foods, earlier nan protestation for a “pre-operation briefing”. The documents besides opportunity Lewis was 1 of nan group who entered nan religion and participated successful respective chants.
But a lawyer representing Lewis, Brock Hunter, told nan New York Times that his customer coincidentally was successful nan Cub Foods parking batch astatine nan aforesaid clip nan protesters were meeting. She was location to prime up items she won astatine an auction, Hunter told nan Times. He added that he thinks she mightiness person been targeted because prosecutors obtained cellphone information to effort to find everyone who was successful nan parking batch astatine that clip – and that Lewis besides resembled a female who appeared connected video of nan protest.
Prosecutors said they intended to driblet nan charges “with prejudice” – meaning they cannot beryllium refiled.
“I americium gladsome this elemental lawsuit of mistaken personality is yet coming to an extremity for me, and I americium happy that my family nary longer has to interest that I could beryllium arrested again astatine immoderate moment,” Lewis said successful a connection obtained by nan Times. “This has been a stressful clip for my family.”
The Trump administration’s justness section has touted nan prosecution. But connected Friday, a magistrate judge overseeing nan first stages of nan lawsuit chided nan justness section for being slow to move complete discovery.
“Here we are, months into a lawsuit that nan authorities had an aggravated appetite to initiate, but cannot look to support up nan gait erstwhile it comes to find obligations,” Douglas Micko, nan magistrate judge, wrote. “This is unacceptable.”
