Attorney General William Barr told U.S. prosecutors that he wanted violent protesters to be charged with sedition or the overthrow of the U.S. government.
What We Know:
- The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Barr pushed for the fullest extent of the law to be unleashed against protesters during a conference call last week.
- During a conference call with U.S. attorneys across the country last week, Mr. Barr warned that violent demonstrations across the U.S. might worsen with the approaching November presidential election. He has motivated the prosecutors to seek several federal charges, including a hardly ever used sedition law, even when state charges could apply.
- Although, reports have shown that 93% of Black Lives Matters protests have been peaceful.
- The call emphasizes Barr’s importance to prosecuting crimes connected to violence during months of protests against racial injustice, leading to significant property damage. President Trump has made massive crackdowns on the violence and property destruction a critical campaign issue. U.S. attorneys have broad discretions in what charges they bring.
- Federal prosecutors have already charged more than 200 people with violent crimes related to the protests, most of whom face arson charges, assaulting federal officers, or gun crimes. FBI officials earlier this year described the offenders as huge opportunists who are taking advantage of the protests.
- In recent months, police officers stated that they are alarmed by how much presence of armed groups from both sides of the political parties. Barr has blamed much of this violence on extremists, including Antifa, a network of groups and people who consider themselves opposing fascism. Barr has described the movement as advocates for revolution.
Legal experts claimed to the WSJ that it would be hard for the nation’s top prosecutor to prove a conspiracy for government overthrow using sedition. It would create a conflict of the First Amendment, which guarantees the public the right to protest.
