The Democrats' record of being soft-on-crime is nothing new. They have repeatedly shown deference to criminals with legislation that removes bail, reduces sentences, and pushes to defund the police. In Michigan's 10th Congressional District, Christina Hines is running for the open House seat.
Hines was a prosecutor in both the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office and Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office. And during her time as a prosecutor, she built up a record of being soft-on-crime, too. It's so bad that the Michael Bouchard campaign launched a website detailing Hines' troubling history of being easy on criminals instead of standing up for victims.
In 2021, Hines dropped domestic violence, sex crime, and stalking charges against Jeffrey Dwayne Smith, 47. Smith was accused of sexually assaulting and threatening to kill a woman. According to local reporting, investigators said Smith sent his alleged victim threatening message and death threats while the victim was at a SafeHouse Center. In one of the messages, Smith allegedly told the victim he was going to go to the SafeHouse with an AK-47 and kill everyone. Magistrate Elisha Fink set Smith's cash surety bond at $3 million.
"Even if one of these texts is from Mr. Smith, he's an extremely dangerous person," Fink said at the time. "This is not a situation where I can take any chances ... My job as the Magistrate is to set a bond that will protect the community."
The Midwesterner reported that Smith's victim, identified as Ravone Fields, had to move homes, changed vehicles, and would sleep at a police station because she feared she was being followed.
Despite this, Hines dropped the charges against Smith. "There is not sufficient evidence to go forward with these charges." Hines said at the time. "Obviously, this is not what anyone wanted."
But the Smith case isn't the only case where Hines let a criminal go. In 2016, Hines — then an Assistant Prosecutor — dropped charges against Aaron Kaycee-Lynardo Streety. He was charged with human trafficking involving kidnapping or criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, assault, and transporting a woman for prostitution. Hines later dropped the charges against him and Streety walked. He went on to reoffend.
Hines was the Division Chief of the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office Special Victims Unit in 2021 when the office let Reid Boucher, a former NHL player, plead to a reduced third-degree charge. Boucher had been charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in 2011. The original charge carried sentence of 25 years to life. Bouchard was sentenced under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act to four years of probation, one year of jail suspended, and no public record if he completed probation.
A former colleague even described her as "compassionate toward the offenders."
But back to the charges against Smith that Hines dropped. Ravone Fields was informed of the decision not to prosecute Smith. "She informed me that she was not able to prosecute," Fields said. "She didn't give really any reason."
"Christina Hines absolutely treated my abuser better than me," Fields added. "I think she's more on the side of the perpetrators and getting people out of jail." Fields would later appear in a 2024 campaign video blasting Hines for her handling of the case.
Mike Bouchard used the footage of Fields in an ad to target Hines' soft on crime record.
And how did Hines respond? By releasing a new ad in conjunction with the DCCC that plasters the word "LIE" over the face of the victim.
This is also ironic given that Hines recently met with an Epstein survivor and said she would "fight tooth and nail" to release the Epstein files.
"Democrat Christina Hines' flailing campaign has hit rock bottom, stooping to a vile attack on a sexual assault victim while refusing to answer for her own soft on crime record," said NRCC spokesman Zach Bannon. "Pro-crime Hines has shown a disgraceful willingness to put political desperation ahead of basic decency, all while pushing a dangerous agenda that puts public safety at risk. Hines should be ashamed of her record and ashamed of her campaign's disgusting tactics."