(DCWatchdog.com) – In what can only be described as a revolutionary court ruling, a California judge has blasted the US government for persecuting ring-wing activists through “selective prosecution” while allowing impunity for Antifa and leftist radicals exhibiting the same behavior.
Judge Cormac Carney of the US District Court for the Central District of California dismissed charges against two individuals aligned with far-right ideologies because of the federal government’s “selective prosecution.”
He highlighted a double standard, noting that while right-wing protesters were charged, their far-left counterparts, who engaged in identical violent actions during clashes, were not prosecuted.
These incidents occurred at a pro-Donald Trump rally in Berkeley on April 15, 2017, involving members of the Rise Against Movement (RAM), a group characterized as “far-right, white nationalist.”
This group, along with others, was involved in altercations with left-wing groups like Antifa and By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), who aimed to disrupt right-wing events through violence.
“Antifa and related far-left groups decided they needed to ‘shut this down.’… They came prepared for violence, bringing weapons including pepper spray, fireworks, knives, and homemade bombs. And they used those weapons, as well as their bodies, against Trump supporters and law enforcement,” the judge wrote in a detailed analysis dated February 21.
He pointed out the government’s failure to prosecute any members of Antifa or similar groups, despite their involvement in violence at the same events.
“No individuals associated with the left, who engaged in anti-far-right speech and violently suppressed the protected speech of Trump supporters, were charged with a federal crime for their part in starting riots at political events. That is textbook viewpoint discrimination,” Carney wrote.
“Most telling in this case is the government’s silence as to why it never pursued a case against a single member of Antifa or related far-left groups with respect to their violent conduct at pro-Trump events,” he added.
The judge’s decision to dismiss the charges was based on evidence of selective prosecution, noting the unequal treatment of similarly situated individuals.
He mentioned that at the specific rally in April 2017, out of 20 arrests, only members of RAM faced charges under the Anti-Riot Act, while members of Antifa or BAMN were not charged for their violent actions aimed at shutting down the rally.
“By many accounts, members of Antifa and related far-left groups engaged in worse conduct and in fact instigated much of the violence that broke out at these otherwise constitutionally protected rallies to silence the protected speech of the supporters of President Trump. That is constitutionally impermissible,” the judge concluded.
