As Donald Trump took the oath of office, thousands raised their voices against bigotry, corruption, and fear-mongering on the streets of Washington, DC. Authorities responded with indiscriminate mass-arrests and abusive, politically-motivated prosecutions. Most of the 200+ protesters arrested that day are still facing at least six felony charges each . (For more backstory, check out: story.dropJ20.org)
My fiancée, Elizabeth, and I were among those arrested, and we are now among the approximately 190 “J20” defendants determined to take these cases to trial.
For the last year, we have fought the legal battle of our lives -- a battle we expect to continue throughout 2018. In the midst of Elizabeth’s career transition from academic science to tech, she was forced to put her life on hold to ensure that we don’t receive decades in prison for exercising one of our most basic rights .
Elizabeth is working to turn this adversity into an opportunity to demand justice for us and everyone who dares to dissent. She needs your help!Criminalizing Dissent
The J20 cases will have broad repercussions for anyone who values the right to dissent. The charges—including conspiracy, rioting, and property destruction—all stem from the same mass arrest, during which police indiscriminately swept up protesters, journalists, volunteer medics, legal observers, and even bystanders.Prosecutors have still—nearly a year later—failed to show that the bulk of defendants did anything beyond attending a protest targeted by authorities hoping to make a political point.
Atop this weak foundation, prosecutors have built their cases by pushing every limit on their considerable power: demanding vast troves of website data involving millions of unrelated people, seeking gag orders forcing Facebook to silently hand over data without notifying users , and 'cracking' 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 body-worn camera footage—shielding the police from public accountability, and complicating efforts to prepare a defense.
At last count, the J20 prosecutions have already generated:
- multiple legal actions from the ACLU,
- pushback from local lawmakers,
- challenges by Facebook in the DC appellate courts,
- a formal investigation into DC policing practices,
- and criticism from over 70 civil liberties organizations
A Fundamentally Unjust System
We’re brought up to expect a fair trial—decided by a "jury of our peers”—but the reality created by a prosecutor’s power often falls far short of our expectations. In today’s ‘justice’ system, 97% of criminal convictions are the result of coercive plea bargains, without any input from judge or jury.
These deals routinely pressure family members to extract additional guilty pleas, or testify against each other - including the one we were offered and rejected.
‘Prosecutorial (In)discretion’ - part of Elizabeth’s efforts to expose the justice system’s power imbalance
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This is in large part due to the very same fear, intimidation, and disruption that Elizabeth and I have experienced. But it also has its roots in the overwhelming resource asymmetry between prosecutors and even the best defense. Our system guarantees basic "representation"—not a fair defense to match the power of the Justice Department.
How Can You Help?
Since January, Elizabeth has essentially been thrust into a very strange (unpaid) job: part paralegal, part investigative journalist, part data scientist, and part political organizer. She’s been cataloguing nearly every hearing with detailed notes, liaising with members of the media working to cover this complex, ever-changing case, helping her lawyers make sense out of hundreds of hours of unorganized video footage, coordinating a public pressure campaign against the US Attorney’s office, and serving as a plaintiff on the ACLU’s lawsuit to hold police accountable for misconduct.
Unfortunately, living in Washington, DC -- one of the priciest cities in the US -- on only my non-profit salary is far from sustainable. In addition to both our living costs, we also need to cover extra, case-related expenses ranging from transportation to computer equipment. Her lawyers are already donating their time pro bono , but as a defendant herself, there's no practical way to be paid by a legal advocacy organization. Your support will help keep us financially afloat while Elizabeth fights on.
Help support this vital work, building a fair defense against these outrageous charges! Deny Trump’s Justice Department any more power to disrupt our lives.Celebrate the right to dissent!
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