A judge has acquitted six people who faced as much as 50 years in prison over seven charges stemming from a Jan. 20 anti-Trump protest in Washington, D.C., Peter Sterne of the Freedom of the Press Foundation reports. The so-called "J20 defendants," including activists and an independent journalist, were found not guilty on all counts, including rioting and property destruction. Free speech groups are hailing the decision as a major win for "First Amendment rights in the age of [President] Trump," The Independent writes.
The prosecution's case was not built on evidence that the defendants actually destroyed property themselves, but that they participated in a march that was known to have turned violent and caused some $100,000 in damages. "Under the government's theory of the case, in which anyone arrested in the group is part of a conspiracy and is responsible for any actions taken by others, the lack of individualized wrongdoing doesn't matter," The Huffington Post writes in its summary of the case.
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