Justice Department drops charges against most of the remaining J20 anti-Trump activists

(Image credit: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

On Thursday, the Justice Department dropped its charges against 129 of the remaining 188 defendants arrested during sometimes-violent protests during President Trump's inauguration a year ago. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kerkhoff said in a court filing that the government "is focusing its efforts" on the 59 remaining "defendants who engaged in identifiable acts of destruction."

The Justice Department had planned on a series of trials throughout most of 2018, employing a novel strategy, prosecuting the arrested protesters, journalists, and bystanders not for acts of violence or vandalism but because they had knowingly participated in a march they knew would turn violent. That strategy suffered a setback in December when a judge and jury threw out all charges against the first group of six protesters. Kris Hermes, a spokesman for the Defend J20 Resistance, said his group will work to help the remaining 59 defendants from "what is clearly a political prosecution." The next trial is scheduled to start March 5.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.