(Alex Edelman / DCist)

A D.C. Superior Court judge has denied a series of motions to dismiss the charges against the near-200 people surrounding the property destruction and chaos in downtown D.C. on Inauguration Day.

Those accused of felony rioting and other charges face decades in prison. Dozens of defense lawyers packed into a courtroom at D.C. Superior Court in late July to argue that those charges should be dropped, because the indictment treated the defendants as one big group rather than as individuals.

“The government comes in and says my client is liable for a felony—all they’ve established is that he’s arrested, not even what he did during the march,” defense attorney Veronice Holt argued in July. “You can’t just say, ‘As many people as the government can catch need to stand trial.'”

But Judge Lynn Leibovitz writes in her decision that the charging document has all of the necessary specificity to go to trial. The government says that all of the defendants operated as part of the “black bloc,” using those tactics to commit violence and evade identification. Because the government is using aiding and abetting and conspiracy liability, “each defendant charged in the indictment may be liable for the acts of others alleged in the indictment,” writes the judge.

She also rejected the argument that the charges amounted to a First Amendment violation. Defense lawyers said that people might protest less if they feared they would be held legally responsible for the actions of others.

But Leibovitz writes that those arguments are, in essence, also about whether the government has evidence against the individual defendants that would justify their charges, a question she writes is better addressed at trial, the first of which is slated to start in November. She concludes that the indictment’s details survive both First and Fourth Amendment challenges.

Leibovitz also denied a motion made by defense lawyers to see how the grand jury was instructed before it made its decision to charge more than 200 people with felony rioting.

358952994 Order Denying Motions by Rachel Kurzius on Scribd

Previously:
How Many People Should Be Held Responsible For Smashed Windows On Inauguration Day?
Inauguration Day Protester Sentenced To Four Months Behind Bars
ACLU Is Suing D.C. Police For Excessive Force, Unlawful Arrests On Inauguration Day
Citing ‘Fatal Defects’ In Government Case, Lawyers Move To Dismiss Charges Against Inauguration Protesters
D.C. Budget Includes $150,000 For Review Of Police During Inauguration
Even More Felony Charges For Inauguration Day Protesters
Prosecutors Are Mining Data From The Cellphones Of Inauguration Day Arrestees
Police Complaints Board Wants Independent Investigation Of Inauguration Day Conduct
Journalists, Legal Observers Among Those With ‘Unprecedented’ Felony Charges For Inauguration Day Protests