A serial road-rager was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a Black motorist in Salem, Oregon. A jury found him guilty after his case fell apart
Print this article
Rep. Markwayne Mullin took aim at FBI Director Cristopher Wray during a House Select Committee on Intelligence hearing, questioning what he sees as the FBI’s double standard in prosecuting Capitol rioters and those in Portland.
“Under the Biden administration, there appears to be a wave of leniency being granted to individuals arrested for federal crimes in Portland,” Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma, said during the hearing. “Federal prosecutors are apparently approving deferred resolution agreements in a number of cases and allowing perpetrators to do community service and avoid jail time and criminal records. Why are we seeing such a disparity between the individuals charged on Jan. 6 and those that are charged in Portland?”
POLITICO
Leniency for defendants in Portland clashes could affect Capitol riot cases
After President Joe Biden’s inauguration, federal prosecutors agreed to probation deals for charges related to last summer’s unrest in Oregon.
Portland police are seen in riot gear during a standoff with protesters in Portland, Ore., on Aug. 16, 2020. | Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
Link Copied
Federal prosecutors’ show of leniency for some defendants charged in the long-running unrest in the streets of Portland could have an impact on similar criminal cases stemming from the Capitol riot, lawyers say.
In recent weeks, prosecutors have approved deals in at least half a dozen federal felony cases arising from clashes between protesters and law enforcement in Oregon last summer. The arrangements known as deferred resolution agreements will leave the defendants with a clean criminal record if they stay out of trouble for a period of time and complete a modest amount of community service,
Since June 28, 2004
April 14, 2021
Noting the importance of charging policies and practices (and consistency?) as federal rioting charges get resolved from coast-to-coast
A few weeks ago, as blogged here,
Politico spotlighted some case processing realities surrounding the on-going federal prosecutions of persons involved in the insurrection on January 6, 2021. That lengthy piece highlighted reasons why it could turn out, in the words of the headline, that Many Capitol rioters [are] unlikely to serve jail time.
Politico now has this additional interesting piece on the same beat headlined Leniency for defendants in Portland clashes could affect Capitol riot cases. I also recommend this piece in full, in part because the piece showcases how differing charging policies and practices both at the national level and in individual districts can lead to differing case outcomes: