DC woman found not guilty of assaulting agent eviscerates Trump with a simple line

A Washington, D.C., woman accused of assaulting a federal agent was found not guilty by a jury Thursday, the latest embarrassment for Jeanine Pirro, President Donald Trump’s federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia.

Prosecutors alleged that Sidney Lori Reid kicked a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent during an altercation outside a D.C. jail in July. Reid had been filming Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as they detained a man who had just been released from jail.

Pirro’s office attempted three times to indict Reid for felony assault, but D.C. grand juries declined to return an indictment each time, a highly unusual development that suggested the fragility of the government’s case.

After sniffing out felony charges, prosecutors ended up trying Reid for a misdemeanor charge of assaulting or impeding a federal agent, but they couldn’t even win that case. The jury deliberated for less than two hours Thursday before returning the not guilty verdict. WUSA9 reported.

Reid, in a statement through his attorneys, said the verdict shows “that this administration and its pawns cannot invoke fear in all citizens.”

“I truly feel sorry for the prosecutors, who must be burdened by Trump’s irrational and baseless hatred of his fellow human beings,” he said. “Knowing that I can stand in front of 12 of my fellow citizens and be found innocent for standing up for basic human rights makes me feel that, despite the terrifying times we live in, we have hope for the future.”

Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images

A spokesman for Pirro could not immediately be reached Thursday.

Reid’s public defenders, Tezira Abe and Eugene Ohm, said in a statement that the case was intended as a “warning” from the Justice Department that it would “support ICE thugs.”

“And while we are pleased with the outcome, Ms. Reid cannot get back the two nights she spent in jail because ICE wanted to teach her a lesson,” they said.

Reid’s arrest preceded Trump’s federal takeover of police in Washington in August, but was part of a series of dubious cases in which Pirros allegedly residents of the district had assaulted federal agents in the performance of their duties.

In several cases, prosecutors initially brought felony charges that carried up to eight years in prison, but eventually dropped them after grand juries rejected them or their weaknesses became too evident. At least two judges expressed frustration in hearings last month over how those charges were filed and then dropped.

In a closing argument for Reid, Abe referred to federal agents as a lawless “goon squad” and argued that the case was a huge waste of time, according to WUSA9. “They should be furious that the government brought this case,” he said.

Paul Nguyen, accused of assaulting a Department of Homeland Security officer during an early morning fight near a bar, ended up spending four nights in jail. His case was eventually dismissed.

“It was the scariest experience of my life,” Nguyen he told News themezone of his stay in the D.C. jail, adding that he intended to file a civil lawsuit over the ordeal.

Legal experts told News themezone last month that Pirro’s office appeared to be overcharging people for minor crimes and that could destroy public trust in city prosecutors.

“When they throw the book at people for minor crimes, it kind of corresponds to the feeling that many people in the black community have that prosecutors are willing to put everyone they can in jail,” said Paul Butler, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center. “That the interest is not so much public safety but rather imprisoning people.”

A Washington man who was charged with assault after throwing a sandwich at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent is scheduled to face trial next month.

Abe and Ohm said they had faith that district juries would reject cases they deemed lacking merit.

“The Justice Department can continue to take these cases to trial to stifle dissent and try to intimidate people,” they said. “But in the end, as long as we have a jury system, our citizens will continue to rebuke the Department of Justice through quick acquittals.”