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Most of the 230 violent protesters that have been apprehended during Trump’s Inauguration on Friday in Washington D.C. will most likely face charges of felony rioting. As the U.S. Attorney office’s statements, this misdemeanor is punishable up to 10 years in jail and a fine of up to $250,000. The majority of the apprehended protesters have been released without bail but with the obligation to return to court in February.
According to D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham 217 people were apprehended on Friday and charged with rioting. These arrests took place in downtown Washington D.C. within a 4 block stretch and it all happened around the time of the swearing-in of President Trump. The arrests took place after the protesters, armed with crowbars and other heavy objects, broke windows of downtown businesses and damaging vehicles.
CBS News reports “A first group of 10 men appeared in Superior Court just before 3 p.m.[on Saturday], and their lawyer entered a not guilty plea on their behalf. A judge released all of them on the condition they not get re-arrested in the District of Columbia.”
After the authorities arrived at the scene, they used pepper spray and “sting balls” against the violent rioters. Half a dozen cops were injured in the confrontation. The protesters probably believed that this harsh reaction was the commencement of repression since their violent exploits were met with a heavy police intervention. The National Guard and the Department of Homeland Security were both deployed with heavy surveillance supported by snipers on rooftops during the inauguration.
Salon reports, “These charges are absolutely horrifying. They are just trying to stop any resistance to the Trump administration,” Samantha Miller, an organizer with the Disrupt J20 Collective, told AlterNet. “Many of these demonstrators were showing rage and fear of what’s coming. It’s going to take a lot more than asking nicely to create change and stop the threats from the Trump administration.”
Citizens of the United States do have the right to protest, no one denies that but violent demonstrations, accompanied with breaking of local businesses and setting vehicles ablaze, not to mention threaten the lives of police officers, is just downright stupid, immoral, and all accomplices and perpetrators must be brought before the face of justice.
