Another Trump Inauguration Protester Acquitted at Trial
Washington, DC – As jury deliberations drag on in the second trial of protesters mass-arrested during President Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2017, another partial verdict was reached in the morning of June 6. Jurors found defendant Seth Cadman not guilty on all charges, with the exception of the charge “engaging in a riot” on which jurors said they were deadlocked and could not reach a unanimous verdict. The two defendants – Michael Basillas and Anthony Felice – continue to wait for verdicts from the jury.
Trial Judge Kimberley Knowles then declared a mistrial in regard to the charge “engaging in a riot,” meaning that that particular charge against Seth Cadman is essentially dropped, although the US Attorney could, in theory, re-file the charge.
Today’s verdict bodes well for the remaining defendants, as Cadman was allegedly identified as breaking a window during the protest, but jurors don’t appear to have full confidence in the government’s alleged identifications of protesters seen in videos, which the defense had heavily contested at trial.
Earlier this week, on Monday, June 4, jurors announced their first partial verdict, in which inauguration protest defendant Cathseigh Webber was acquitted on all charges. Unlike Cadman, Webber was not even accused of property damage, but merely for being a part of the street march where most people dressed in black and some in the crowd damaged property.
Several other trial groups of defendants mass-arrested on January 20, 2017 (or ‘J20’ for short) have seen their cases dismissed by the US Attorney in the wake of US District Chief Judge Robert Morin’s finding that prosecutors in the J20 case illegally hid evidence provided to them by the far-right “entrapment” media organization Project Veritas.
The future of the J20 case is unclear, but if the current trial ends in no convictions, the US Attorney is expected to drop or reduce charges against remaining defendants with trial dates scattered throughout the rest of 2018.
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J20 Trial Coverage & More:
- Criminalizing Dissent: Trials Begin for Trump Inauguration J20 Protests - November 29, 2017
- Criminalizing Dissent: Contested Evidence Introduced in J20 Trial Testimony - November 29, 2017
- Police Commander Behind J20 Arrests Joked About Holocaust, LGBTs - December 3, 2017
- Criminalizing Dissent: Trump Inauguration Protest Trial Enters Fourth Week - December 9, 2017
- Criminalizing Dissent: After Proving “Mere Presence” J20 Prosecution Rests Case - December 13, 2017
- Jury Finds Six #J20 Defendants “Not Guilty” on All Charges - December 21, 2017
- Interview: 188 Still Face Decades In Prison For Trump Inauguration Protest - January 13, 2018
- DC Mayor, Police Refuse to Release Financial Records of Trump Inauguration Investigation - January 17, 2018
- US Attorney Drops 129 Trump Inauguration Protest Cases, 59 Still Face Decades In Prison - January 18, 2018
- Second Trump Inauguration Protest Trial Begins - May 16, 2018
- Prosecutors Illegally Withheld Evidence From Trump Inauguration Protesters, Judge Finds - May 23, 2018
- Second J20 Trial Heads To Jury Despite Court Sanctions Against Prosecutors - June 1, 2018
- More Trump Inauguration Protest Arrestees Have Charges Dismissed - June 4, 2018
- Another Trump Inauguration Protester Acquitted at Trial - June 6, 2018
- Second Trump Inauguration Protest Trial Ends In Acquittals/Mistrials - June 7, 2018
- Federal Prosecutors Drop Eight More Trump Inauguration Protest Cases - June 13, 2018
- US Attorney Drops Remaining Trump Inauguration Protest Charges - July 6, 2018
DC J20 Protest Coverage:
- FERC Protest, Evict the DNC, & Disrupt the DeploraBall on the Eve of Trump’s Inauguration - January 23, 2017
- “No Peaceful Transition” for Trump as Thousands #DisruptJ20 in Washington, D.C. on Inauguration Day - January 27, 2017
- 214 Indicted on Felony Riot Charges for Protesting Trump Inauguration - March 15, 2017
- Anti-Racist Coalition Rallies Against Fascism and State Repression at DC Police HQ - June 25, 2017
- Protesters Face 80 Years as US Attorney Brings Unprecedented Mass Felony Charges (Includes Interview with Olivia, a Defendant) - June 29, 2017
- J20 Defendant Dane Powell Sentenced to Four Months in Federal Prison - July 7, 2017
- J20 Indictment Challenged in Motions Hearing; One Count Dismissed - July 28, 2017
