Trump Justice A JURY JUST CONVICTED A WOMAN FOR...
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Trump Justice
A JURY JUST CONVICTED A WOMAN FOR LAUGHINGAT JEFF SESSIONSThe Justice Department prosecuted Desiree Fairooz for “disorderly and disruptive
conduct” and for “parading, demonstrating, or picketing within the Capitol.” She,
along with two other protesters, could face a year in prison.
BY T I N A N G U Y E NMAY 3, 2017 12:02 PM
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The Justice Department will not press federal charges against two white Baton
Rouge police officers involved in last year's shooting death of a black man, Alton
Sterling, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday, bringing renewed attention to
how Attorney General Jeff Sessions, already controversial, is choosing to deal
with allegations of police bias and racially motivated shootings. The decision is
not entirely surprising: federal civil rights charges in such cases are rare, due to the high burden
of proof, and even the Obama-era D.O.J. repeatedly declined to charge police officers involved
in high-profile deaths. Still, it is stunning to see what cases Donald Trump’s attorney general
has decided to prosecute.
On Wednesday, a jury convicted a 61-year-old female activist who had laughed during
Sessions’s January confirmation hearing in the Senate. Desiree Fairooz, a longtime protester
affiliated with the anti-war group Code Pink, had been escorted out of the room for laughing in
response to Senator Richard Shelby's assertion that Sessions had a “clear and
well-documented” history of “treating all Americans equally under the law.” (Sessions had, in
fact, been denied a federal judgeship in 1986 because of a history of racially charged remarks,
and Shelby himself had once run a campaign ad suggesting that Sessions was a Klan
sympathizer.) Fairooz, along with two other protesters, faces up to a year in prison.
By Mark Wilson/Getty Images.
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Another protester escorted out of Sessions hearing. Her original
offense appeared to be simply laughing.
7:12 AM - 10 Jan 2017
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Ryan J. Reilly@ryanjreilly
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The Huffington Post’s Ryan J. Reilly, who was covering the hearing at the time, reported that
Fairooz’s laugh was not disruptive to the hearing and did not interrupt Shelby’s speech. But
Fairooz was arrested by a rookie Capitol police officer on her second week on the job who,
according to Reilly, “had never conducted an arrest before nor worked at a congressional
hearing.” Nevertheless, Katherine Coronado and the Capitol police booked Fairooz. She was
later charged by the government with “disorderly and disruptive conduct” for her laugh, as well
as a second charge for “parading, demonstrating, or picketing within the Capitol” as she was
being led out.
Fairooz has protested at several congressional hearings, and likely knows the difference
between being intentionally disruptive and respectful of decorum. “Why am I being taken out
of here?” she asked as she was arrested. “I was going to be quiet, and now you’re going to have
me arrested? For what?”
During Fairooz’s trial on Monday, fellow Code Pink activist Ariel Gold testified that Fairooz
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was funny enough to warrant a laugh and noted that Fairooz was laughing “very loudly”
—enough for people to turn their heads and look at her.
Fairooz was convicted along with Tighe Barry and Lenny Bianchi, who both dressed as
K.K.K. members to protest Sessions and had been charged with breaking Senate rules.
The decision to prosecute the three protesters suggests a distinctly Trumpian approach to law
and order has taken hold within the Justice Department. It is also sure to have a chilling effect
on protest and other forms of free speech that are already in the Trump administration’s
crosshairs. On Sunday, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said that pushing for a
change to the nation’s libel laws “is being looked at”—a move that would restrict the press,
though one that many legal experts suggest isn’t going anywhere. Trump has previously
suggested that “We're going to open up the libel laws so when they write falsely we can sue the
media and we can get these stories corrected and get damages.” He has also taken aim at
protesters directly, claiming without evidence in February that an unspecified demonstration
was composed of “professional anarchists” and “thugs.” He is currently facing multiple
lawsuits accusing him of inciting violence against protesters at his rallies.
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Donald Trump vs. Women
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TINA NGUYENTina Nguyen is a reporter for The Hive, covering politics and the media.
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