It is unusual for a grand jury to decline to issue an indictment. However, in recent weeks, grand juries have done exactly that in the cases of several individuals who were apprehended during President Donald Trump’s intensified law enforcement actions in Washington, D.C.
In the most recent instance, prosecutors were unable to secure an indictment against Nathalie Rose Jones, a woman who the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia accused of making threats against Trump in various social media posts.
In August, Jones agreed to speak with Secret Service agents at her New York residence. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. reported that during the interview, she referred to Trump as a “nazi” and a “terrorist,” and stated she would kill him if she had to and had the opportunity. The following day, after traveling to D.C. to participate in a protest, she again spoke with Secret Service agents. Her lawyers stated in a motion filed on Monday that she “repeatedly told them she had no intent to harm anyone, including the president, and was in D.C. to attend a peaceful protest.” Prosecutors, nevertheless, claimed Jones admitted to threatening Trump during her prior interview, even while denying any current desire to harm him. According to her lawyers’ motion, she allowed agents to search her car and no weapons were found. Despite this, agents arrested her on August 16, and prosecutors noted Jones confirmed ownership of a social media account that had posted threats against Trump earlier that month.
The motion submitted by her lawyers revealed that a grand jury has since refused to indict her.
“A grand jury has now determined there is no probable cause to indict Ms. Jones on the alleged offenses,” her lawyers wrote. “Given this finding, the strength of the evidence is weak. The government might intend to try again to obtain an indictment, but the evidence remains unchanged and an indictment is unlikely. For this reason, the Court should release Ms. Jones on her personal recognizance to appear if required.”
Federal grand jurors also chose not to indict at least three other individuals in recent days.
Three grand juries declined to indict Sidney Lori Reid, whom prosecutors alleged assaulted an FBI agent during a protest in D.C. in July. The inability to secure an indictment led federal prosecutors to reduce the charges against Reid to misdemeanors last week.
Also last week, a grand jury refused to indict former Justice Department employee Sean C. Dunn, who was charged with assault on a federal agent after reportedly throwing a sandwich at an officer in D.C. Video footage of the incident, which occurred on August 10, gained widespread attention online. Prosecutors have since downgraded the charges against Dunn to misdemeanor charges.
A few days prior, a grand jury declined to indict Alvin Summers, who was accused of assaulting a federal officer in D.C. After failing to obtain the indictment, prosecutors asked for the case to be dismissed without prejudice, meaning they could refile charges against Summers in the future. His lawyers, conversely, have requested that the case be dismissed with prejudice, which would prevent the charges from being refiled.
While such rejections by grand juries are uncommon, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles also struggled to secure indictments in the cases of several individuals arrested while participating in demonstrations against the Trump Administration’s immigration enforcement actions. Many of the federal charges prosecutors had filed were eventually dismissed or reduced to misdemeanor charges.
These decisions come as Trump’s contentious deployment of federal troops and officers to address crime in American cities faces opposition from local officials and the courts.
On Tuesday, a judge ruled that the Trump Administration violated long-standing federal law when it “systematically used armed soldiers” to carry out law enforcement duties after the President deployed National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles. The District of Columbia is pursuing legal action against Trump’s intervention in the city, an operation during which more than 1,000 people have been arrested, according to reports. Furthermore, the mayor of Chicago, a city Trump has suggested is “next” in his crime-fighting efforts, over the weekend instructed city departments not to cooperate with an anticipated National Guard deployment, stating that Chicago “will pursue all available legal and legislative avenues to counter coordinated efforts from the federal government that violate the rights of the City and its residents.”
