Riot police and protesters on Inauguration Day. (Photo by Scott Heins)

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced today it was dropping felony rioting charges against three more journalists who were arrested while covering Inauguration Day protests: Matthew Hopard, John Keller, and Alexander Rubinstein.

“After a review of evidence presented to us by law enforcement, we have concluded that we will not proceed with the charges against the three defendants, who are journalists,” said William Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, in a statement.

This follows a decision by the U.S. Attorney’s Office late last week to dismiss a felony rioting charge against journalist Evan Engel of Vocativ.

The charges against six journalists were first reported by The Guardian. Hopard is an independent journalist who was livestreaming the protests, Keller produces web documentary Story of America, and Rubinstein works for RT America.

That means at least two more people who claim to be journalists—Shay Horse and Aaron Cantú—still face felony rioting charges, which carry a maximum 10 year sentence and $25,000 fine.

In sum, 230 people were charged with felony rioting after clashes between protesters and police in downtown D.C. on Inauguration Day that led to property damage and minor injuries for six police officers.

Lawyers and legal observers say the mass arrests and felony charges are a break from D.C. Police and U.S. Attorney’s Office practice for the past decade.

On Inauguration Day, lawyers filed a class action suit against D.C. Police alleging false arrests and excessive force. It claimed that many of the people arrested and charged had nothing to do with the property damage, and were journalists, legal observers, lawyers, medics, and peaceful protesters.

Last Friday, Monica Hopkins-Maxwell, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of D.C., said that law enforcement may have violated protesters’ rights by indiscriminately corralling people, including legal observers and journalists; by “using pepper spray without justification;” and by keeping people outside for long periods of time without access to bathrooms or food.

The felony charges against journalists has led to worries about press freedoms. The senior Americas program coordinator for the Committee to Project Journalists, Carlos Lauría, said his organization was “concerned that they could send a chilling message to journalists covering future protests.” They called for the dismissal of all charges against the media.

Miller said in his statement that his office is “continuing to work with the Metropolitan Police Department to review evidence related to the arrests on Jan. 20.”