Events
Podcast
Columns
Library
Contact
Oct 2, 17
Filed under: Action, Announcement, Community Organizing, Repression, US
Join us in welcoming US Attorney Liu to office with a flood of phone calls demanding that the J20 charges be dropped! Sign up at call.usattorneyliu.org now! President Trump’s US Attorney nomination for DC flouted ethics rules before the ink was dry on her nomination.
Can we convince her to do the right thing for the 194 people being unjustly prosecuted by her office? As US Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jessie Liu has near-complete prosecutorial discretion to drop these charges! Sign up at call.usattorneyliu.org to reserve your time slot. We’ll send you an email with more details and a suggested call script. And SHARE widely!
Background:
On Jan 20th, hundreds of inauguration protesters were mass-arrested, held in inhumane conditions, and are now facing at least 8 felony charges each. Their cell phones were confiscated and searched, their homes were raided, and their social media data was seized.
Prosecutors in these cases have demanded vast troves of website data involving millions of unrelated people, sought gag orders forcing Facebook to silently hand over data without notifying users or allowing for legal due process, and ‘cracked’ over 100 defendant cell phones to extract terabytes of personal data.
At the same time, they requested a rare ‘protective’ order to keep defendants from sharing police body camera footage – shielding the police from public accountability, and complicating efforts to prepare a defense.
Most disturbingly, prosecutors have balked at their basic, constitutional duty to disclose individualized evidence – citing the workload of so many cases.
The irony of that complaint, given the disruption caused in over 200 people’s lives by their choice to bring these charges, appears lost on both the prosecution and the court.
Throughout these cases, prosecutors have engaged in vindictive, intrusive, and excessive behavior – from detectives sent to eavesdrop on attorney-client conversations in the courthouse, to offers of ‘wired’ pleasdesigned to coerce easy ‘wins’ for the prosecutor by pitting defendants against family and friends.
But who ‘wins’ when prosecutors abuse their power and disrupt lives?
If we let these cases continue uncontested, we empower one of the world’s biggest school-yard bullies – the modern American prosecutor – to set aside even the meager protection offered by everyone’s favorite 10 Amendments.
We make the next abuse easier; the next target more vulnerable.
As US Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jessie Liu has near-complete prosecutorial discretion to drop these charges!
It’s up to you to demand that she does!
For maximum impact:
- Make it personal. Why are you upset?
- Let them respond. Make it a conversation.
- Ask them what they plan to do in response to public comment.
- End with a clear call to action.
Hi! My name is ______.
I am calling to demand that you drop ALL pending charges against the Inauguration protesters.
I was horrified to learn that over 200 people were improperly arrested, mistreated, and threatened with excessive felony charges.
Over the last 9 months, you have pushed every limit – making these prosecutions as disruptive as possible, and the investigations surrounding this case as intrusive as possible. Most defendants will wait more than a year for their day in court – under the constant threat of decades in prison.
You have used massively inflated charges to coerce plea deals, and then used the fact of those guilty pleas in court as a justification for pursuing the cases.
You have used gag orders to protect the government from public accountability, and failed in your duty to share evidence with the defense.
Prosecutors have the choice of when or how to bring charges, and the responsibility to use it wisely. Your office has abused that power to punish, repress, and intimidate. Your office has wasted public resources, and harmed dozens of the people you’re obligated to serve.
Start out this new US Attorney’s term on the side of justice – drop the charges. NOW.
PHONE NUMBERS
CALL DOJ OVERSIGHT:
Hi! My name is ______.
I am calling to demand that you investigate the US Attorney for DC’s decision to prosecute over two hundred people in connection with inauguration day protests.
I was horrified to learn that over 200 people were improperly arrested, mistreated, and threatened with excessive felony charges.
Over the last 9 months, the US Attorney’s Office in DC has pushed every limit – making these prosecutions as disruptive as possible, and the investigations surrounding this case as intrusive as possible. Most defendants will wait more than a year for their day in court – under the constant threat of decades in prison.
Prosecutors have used massively inflated charges to coerce plea deals, and then used the fact of those guilty pleas in court as a justification for pursuing the cases.
They have asked for gag orders to protect law enforcement from public accountability, and balked at sharing evidence with the defense.
Prosecutors have the choice of when or how to bring charges, and the responsibility to use that discretion wisely. In these cases, the US Attorney’s Office has has abused its power to punish, repress, and intimidate. They have wasted public resources, and harmed dozens of the people you’re obligated to serve.
As the { – Inspector General’s Office — or– Office of Professional Responsibility – } it is your responsibility to make sure that Department of Justice officials act ethically and professionally. With that in mind, please investigate these prosecutions, and urge Jessie Liu to drop the charges. NOW.
PHONE NUMBERS
Share Widely!:
