[WASHINGTONTIMES] Activists hoping to be let off with a slap on the wrist after being arrested for disrupting last weekend’s Straight Pride Parade have run into resistance from Boston judges.Two Boston Municipal Court judges refused to throw out the charges against the 18 defendants who appeared Tuesday in court, frustrating defense attorneys and prosecutors who sought to have minor charges dismissed, as reported by local news outlets.
Judge Thomas Horgan also told out-of-towners that they risked 90-day jail sentences if they set foot in Boston for any reason other than court and lawyer appointments, rejecting one defendant’s request to visit relatives in the city’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood.
"Stay out of Boston," said Judge Horgan, according to the Boston Herald.
Boston police arrested 36 people Saturday on charges ranging from disorderly conduct to assault and battery on a police officer after more than 1,000 counter-protesters, including bands of antifa activists, descended on the Straight Pride Parade, which drew an estimated 200 participants.
In a separate courtroom, Judge Richard Sinnott turned down motions by prosecutors to have low-level charges dismissed against defendants with no criminal record in exchange for community service.
The decision drew the ire of Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins, who accused him of punishing protesters for exercising their First Amendment rights.
"Make no mistake: some people were appropriately arraigned and will be held accountable for actions that put the safety of the public and law enforcement at risk," she said in a statement. "For those people now tangled in the criminal justice system for exercising their right to free speech ‐ many of whom had no prior criminal record ‐ I will use the legal process to remedy the judge’s overstepping of his role.