For the second time in five years, federal charges against alleged members of a violent white supremacist group accused of inciting violence at California political rallies were dismissed by a federal judge who found they were selectively prosecuted.
Federal prosecutors said members of the Rise Above Movement conspired to riot by using the internet to coordinate traveling to political rallies and attacking demonstrators at gatherings in Huntington Beach, Berkeley and San Bernardino in 2018. The group also posted videos to celebrate violence and recruit members.
U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney first tossed the charges against Robert Rundo and Robert Boman in June 2019. The two were charged with conspiracy to violate the Anti-Riot Act and rioting.
On Wednesday, Carney again granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss, agreeing that Rundo and Boman were being selectively prosecuted while “far-left extremist groups” were not.
It doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t dismiss a case because other people get away with the same crime.
I mean yes, of course, but I don’t even believe it’s true. Name a violent left-wing organization. Antifa? They aren’t organized at all. BLM? While there is an organization, it’s awfully damn loose and not everyone at a BLM protest is actually part of the organization.
Seems like letting authorities choose to treat people differently when everyone is violating a law is pretty dangerous.
It’s been observed that the body of modern law is so vast that nobody could possibly stay on the right side of the law all the time. Unenforced laws together with your principle would give the authorities the ability to legally attack anyone they don’t like such as political enemies or even entire racial groups they hate and then defend their actions by pointing out that those bad people did, in fact, violate the law regardless of what other people are doing.