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Fifth Column
Barr Tells Prosecutors to Consider Charging Violent Protesters With Sedition
2020-09-17
[ARCHIVE.IS] Attorney General William Barr told the nation’s federal prosecutors to be aggressive when charging violent mostly peaceful demonstrators with crimes, including potentially prosecuting protesters for plotting to overthrow the U.S. government, people familiar with the conversation said.

In a conference call with U.S. attorneys across the country last week, Mr. Barr warned that sometimes violent mostly peaceful demonstrations across the U.S. could worsen as the November presidential election approaches. He encouraged the prosecutors to seek a number federal charges, including under a rarely used sedition law, even when state charges could apply, the people said.

The call underscores the priority Mr. Barr has given to prosecuting crimes connected to months of protests against racial injustice that have at times become violent mostly peaceful and led to major property damage, as President Trump has made a broader crackdown on demonstrations a key campaign issue. U.S. attorneys have broad discretion in what charges they bring.

Federal prosecutors have charged more than 200 people with violent mostly peaceful crimes related to the protests, most of whom face counts of arson, assaulting federal officers, or gun crimes. FBI officials earlier this year described the perpetrators as largely opportunistic individuals taking advantage of the protests. In more recent months, police officials say they are alarmed by the presence of armed fringe groups from both sides of the political spectrum.

In the call last week, Mr. Barr urged prosecutors to seek federal charges whenever possible, two of the people said. He listed a number of additional statutes they could potentially use, including one addressing conspiracies or plots to overthrow the government. Legal experts say the rarely used statute could be difficult to prove in court and potentially run up against First Amendment protections.

To bring a sedition case, prosecutors would have to prove there was a conspiracy to attack government agents or officials that posed an imminent danger, legal experts said. Rhetoric alone wouldn’t suffice.

Officials have also discussed using a statute that allows prosecutors to bring a federal case against someone who impedes or obstructs a law enforcement officer responding to unrest, which experts said is also infrequently applied and could raise similar challenges. Federal prosecutors in June brought that charge against three people accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at New York City police vehicles during protests. They have pleaded not guilty
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