The Boudin Standard
Frisco district attorney Chesa Boudin, born to a pair of convicted Weather Underground domestic terrorists, was sent packing this month by disaffected San Franciscans. Boudin had declared when he was elected in November 2019: "There can be no justice when we utilize prison and jail as the solution to all our problems. We must think differently. We will think differently." A month after taking the oath of office, Boudin announced that the city's prosecutors will no longer ask for cash bail as a condition for release, calling the pretrial detention practice "discriminatory." Since then, under the left-wing prosecutor's reign, lawless San Fran has been plagued by an increased murder rate, shameless smash-and-grab thefts, an uptick in burglaries, break-ins, and drug dealing in plain sight—a concerning trend that's ailed the city's disgruntled inhabitants.
By mid-December 2020, there were 621 drug overdose deaths that year in San Francisco, which far outpaced the city’s COVID-19 death toll in 2020 at 173 fatalities, per The Associated Press. Yet, Boudin had reportedly not convicted anyone for dealing the lethal opioid in 2021.
Last year, Boudin's office secured just three total convictions for "possession with intent to sell" drugs: two for methamphetamine and one involving heroin and cocaine, according to San Francisco Superior Court case information obtained by The San Francisco Standard.
The breaking point, though, was reached in 2021 when Troy McAlister, who has a 25-year criminal history and was out on parole, allegedly killed two women in a hit-and-run on New Year's Eve. The parolee attempted to make a getaway with a stolen vehicle after committing a burglary. Many believe the victims would be alive had Boudin chosen to pursue charges instead of repeatedly referring McAlister to parole.
McAlister's uncle had a strong message regarding Boudin's office after his nephew was released in 2015 following an armed robbery.
"I don't know why they released him. I really cannot understand that," he said, according to ABC 7 News.
ALCO’s DA’s office tells me he plead no contest to elder abuse, assault w/force likely to prod great bodily injury.
— Dion Lim (@DionLimTV) March 16, 2022
Sentencing is set for 4/11. He’s expected to receive a sentence of 7 years in prison.
Legal experts say he may serve less b/c of time served/good behavior. (2/3)
Boudin's boot from elected office is evident of a widespread voter revolt brewing in Democratic strongholds. Even progressive voters are tired of rampant violent crime in their upper middle-class communities as homeless encampments and open drug usage are no longer embraceable acts against gentrification—just displays of urban decay and a declining neighborhood market value. It's likely the result of wealthy liberals shedding tears at the sight of their local Louis Vuitton looted or their go-to Nordstrom location ransacked, (which prompted the white allies to quietly take Black Lives Matter out of their social media bios).
Amid the Golden City's spike in organized retail theft, the president of the California Retailer's Association blamed Boudin and "the fact that he's made it clear he will not prosecute many of these crimes," citing "no repercussions" or "any consequences" for criminals.
Louis Vuitton San Francisco, Union square got cleared out!! pic.twitter.com/7Sz6rlRo8n
— Da Juan (@CARLITOSGUEY) November 20, 2021
But, advocates of the Stop Asian Hate movement also spearheaded the citizen crusade against Boudin, outraged over the proliferation of anti-Asian hate crimes under Boudin's watch.
Members of the frightened and targeted Asian American community, who have sought refuge there for generations, called the chief prosecutor "the worst district attorney the city has ever had," claiming Boudin "doesn't care" and that it's "just so easy to break the law" in ultra-liberal San Francisco.
The family of an 84-year-old Thai immigrant shoved to his death was outraged over Boudin's description of the suspected killer. In a New York Times article, Boudin said that 19-year-old suspect Antoine Watson, charged with murder and elder abuse, was having "some sort of temper tantrum," a term often used to describe toddlers. "I don't buy it for a second. He knew what he was doing. Hearing this excuse of a hissy fit is really upsetting," the victim's son-in-law voiced, ABC 7 News reported.
In another heartbreaking case, a 68-year-old Asian man collecting recyclables was assaulted and robbed in San Francisco by an assailant who recorded the attack while saying, "I hate Asians." Boudin dropped the charges against 20-year-old Dwayne Grayson and took a "restorative justice" approach to prosecuting the defendant.
LATEST: Horrific video of fatal attack Thursday on 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee. Details -> https://t.co/6Z5rqIQpcZ pic.twitter.com/PJnuuWgE3Y
— Evan Sernoffsky (@EvanSernoffsky) February 1, 2021
(It's not just Boudin who was overthrown by the fed-up electorate. Lifelong residents also recalled three San Francisco school board members in February after they'd wasted resources trying to rename one-third of the city's "injustice-linked" schools instead of reopening classrooms shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic.)
A key takeaway even The New York Times has concluded is that party loyalists sending Boudin packing means that "Democrats Are At War With Themselves Over Crime." In addition to infighting, crime in their backyards is a litmus test for their liberal outlook; it's an indicator of an identity crisis among progressives who have to decide what shade of blue they are. The successful anti-Boudin recall measure could echo voter sentiment across the U.S. In a statement following the double-digit defeat, Richie Greenberg, leader of the triumphant recall effort, said the dethronement of Boudin a little over halfway through his first term "should send a clear message across the nation — that serving as District Attorney yet not holding criminals accountable is a dereliction of duty."
Recommended
My statement on the success of recalling Mr Chesa Boudin: pic.twitter.com/OZK8Lm2GYc
— Richie Greenberg (@richieSF2016) June 8, 2022
An unemployed Boudin has found out the hard way that having friends in high places can only get you so far. Other prosecutors crafted in the likeness of the Boudin standard will hopefully soon, too, realize that society can't have law and order without enforcement. Nevertheless, prioritizing the wants of criminals over the needs of victims has undermined the credibility of the Democratic Party on the issue of public safety. Boudin's defenestration serves as an overdue reminder that the role of a DA is to be a prosecutor, not a public defender or an activist whose primary duty is to remake the justice system in the name of social justice and equity.
Constituents in a city as blue as San Francisco showing Boudin the door is a tell-tale sign of a reckoning among coastal elites and woke Democrats alike awakened to the harm that reformist prosecution has done to law-abiding city-dwellers, victims of heinous crimes, and their families. Boudin's humiliating defeat could be a tinderbox for more ousters of Soros-backed DAs. (Soros representatives mobilized in the fallout of Boudin's landslide loss to distance the liberal mega-donor's name from Boudin, insisting that the billionaire investor has never funded the unseated DA "directly or indirectly," although all money-paved roads seem to lead back to George Soros one way or another.)
Here are the soft-on-crime progressive prosecutors elsewhere in major Democrat-led cities who should be rattled, if not next on the chopping block, by Boudin's fall from grace:
LA's George Gascón
Boudin's short-lived stint in San Francisco was preceded by the tenure of now-Los Angeles County district attorney George Gascón, who had filled the seat vacated by BLM bailsman Vice President Kamala Harris.
Gascón, who oversaw the elimination of cash bail for non-violent felonies, ordered LA prosecutors to abandon the "racist" death penalty and abolish capital punishment, halt prosecuting juveniles as adults no matter how heinous the crime, and not seek enhanced sentences for repeat offenders and gang members.
According to The Los Angeles Times, Gascón's policies may have led to reduced prison time for a gang member-turned-cop killer. 35-year-old Justin Flores, the man who killed two El Monte police officers last Tuesday, could have faced more years in prison when he was last charged with a crime; Flores was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and methamphetamine in 2020 after he was convicted of burglary less than a decade before. A prior conviction on certain felonies is considered a strike, which would make a suspect charged with later crimes eligible for harsher sentences. But the strike against Flores was revoked after Gascón took office because of his "special directive" that barred prosecutors from filing strike allegations. The removal of the strike allegation cost prosecutors leverage when negotiating a plea, experts told The Times.
(Gascón's policy regarding strikes was deemed illegal following a lawsuit filed by the union representing rank-and-file prosecutors. Last year, the court ruled that Gascón's policy violated California's “three strikes” law, which requires prosecutors to file strike allegations whenever a defendant has a previous felony conviction.)
Gascón's directive related to juveniles has also been modified after public denunciation over the case of a 26-year-old transgender child molester who sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl in a women's restroom when the offender was age 17. James "Hannah" Tubbs, a biological male who now identifies as a transgender woman, was ordered to serve two years in a juvenile facility. Prior to sentencing, the judge criticized Gascón's office for declining to prosecute the repeat offender as an adult. Gascón told The Los Angeles Times he was concerned Tubbs could be victimized in an adult facility as a trans woman. Because of Gascón's blanket policy against transferring juveniles to adult court, Tubbs will not have to register as a sex offender or spend time in county jail or state prison. Tubbs will be held with the females where, in Los Angeles County, juvenile facilities can house both sexes but in separate areas. Explicit jailhouse recordings show Tubbs gloating over the slap on the wrist.
There was also indignation when Gascón touted last March that he stopped 77 juvenile cases from heading to adult court, including that of Main Street Mafia Crip member Jalen Yoakum, who allegedly murdered an innocent man—mistaken as a rival Hoovers gang member by the suspect when he was a minor just several months shy of turning 18. While Yoakum was in the process of being transferred to an adult court, Gascón took office. He subsequently withdrew the transfer motion and filed to drop all gang and gun enhancements against Yoakum. From juvenile detention, Yoakum has continued to post on social media his gang allegiances, FOX 11 reported.
(2/5) Yoakum has a lengthy criminal history going back to when he was 12. He also recorded himself practicing drive by shootings by shooting a homeless man in the face with a paintball gun. He was in process of being transferred to adult court, then Gascon took office. @FOXLA pic.twitter.com/rFprjOnbjT
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) March 25, 2021
Gascón is again under fire after a teenager convicted of driving a stolen car into a mother and her 8-month-old baby was awarded a lightweight sentence. The 17-year-old was ordered to spend five to seven months in a juvenile probation camp described by prosecutors as "less than a military school and a little bit tougher than a summer camp," which Gascón's office deemed "an appropriate resolution." Gascón argued that the crime is not attempted murder under California law and that there was "no evidence" to prove that, beyond a reasonable doubt, the minor intended to kill the mother and child. Deputy district attorney Shea Sanna commented, "Any competent prosecutor [even 'a law student'] could prove attempted murder in this case," citing surveillance video, eyewitness testimony, and victim statements, plus "common sense" knowledge of the circumstances.
THREAD (1/4) A 16 y/o hit & run driver in a stolen car who ran over a mom & child in Venice was sentenced on Friday to 5-7 months in juvie camp. LA DA @GeorgeGascon office tells me this was an “appropriate resolution”, but I’ve learned he has a prior criminal history. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/HupMw9KRFu
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) June 5, 2022
Gascón could now face the wrath of voters caught in the literal crossfire if the second recall movement taking formidable shape against the embattled district attorney heads to the polls on Election Day.
An initial recall attempt was nixed last September with organizers of the anti-Gascón cause blaming the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a "premature start" hindering the collection of signatures. But a second try is underway after it was green lighted by the LA County Registrar of Voters office in January. There's now a deadline early next month for the plan to be put up for a vote.
Gascón's opponents have until July 6 to collect enough signatures in order to place the recall question on the ballot in November's general election. The threat might very well prove fatal to Gascón's career. Last Wednesday, the Recall George Gascon campaign announced that they've received the number needed—over 567,857 signatures— to force a ballot referendum on the ballot. They're aiming to gather another 650,000 to ensure a buffer in case county officials declare signatures invalid. "The only thing that can stop us at this point is complacency," the group said in a campaign statement.
UPDATE: Our campaign to recall George Gascon has collected the necessary 567k signatures!
— RecallDAGeorgeGascon (@DAGasconRecall) June 15, 2022
But 566,857 of those signatures must be *verified* by July 6. We need a cushion of 650k-700k signatures to ensure the recall qualifies.
Sign the petition TODAY: https://t.co/NKtY22FMOK pic.twitter.com/JPIdK2E8Ps
The union that represents about 800 LA prosecutors overwhelmingly endorsed the recall effort in February. The leader of the LA County Association of Deputy District Attorneys said Gascón's potential recall would "restore public safety as the priority of the District Attorney's office." A majority of the association's members, almost 98 percent of those who participated in a survey calculating membership opinion, had voted in favor of recalling Gascón. "This vote is by those who are intimately familiar with how Mr. Gascón's policies actually play out on a day-to-day basis," union president Michele Hanisee said when announcing the vote.
Deputy DA Jonathan Hatami joined the anti-Gascón side by forming a pro-recall political action committee and accusing his boss of having "basically said wrongdoers will not be held accountable for their actions." As a result, crime is skyrocketing, and "the safety of every Angelino is at stake," Hatami asserted in a press release.
"I think tomorrow Boudin is going to be recalled, and what I want to tell everybody and tell [Los Angeles DA] George Gascón is, you’re next," Hatami told Fox News the day before Boudin was kicked to the curb. "The people of Los Angeles have had enough." Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva issued a similar warning while he awaited early results in his own re-election race the next evening. "The DA of San Francisco just conceded he has been recalled," Villanueva said eliciting cheers. "George Gascón, you're next."
"George Gascón, you're next," Sheriff Alex Villanueva said while referencing the recall election of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. For more click here: https://t.co/vLhBTTarut pic.twitter.com/glGrGDfCM0
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) June 8, 2022
Gascón's office told Fox News that the district attorney in hot water is "focused on doing the important job of improving safety and justice for all in Los Angeles County, not on political diversion." Gascón campaign spokesperson Elise Moore said, per The New York Post, that regardless of the election outcomes, Gascòn is working to ensure "we have a justice system that doesn't needlessly incarcerate Black and brown Angelenos."
According to campaign finance data reported by the California Secretary of State's office, Soros boosted Gascón's 2020 victory by donating $1.5 million in September that year, another $750,000 the following month, plus $200,000 days before the election to the California branch of the Justice & Public Safety PAC backing Gascón. The Los Angeles Times calculated that Soros spent, in total, $2.25 million funding Gascón's win.
Chicago's Kim Foxx (Cook County)
Cook County state's attorney Kim Foxx promised on the 2016 campaign trail that it would be "the start of a journey to fix a broken system in need of repair." However, a 2020 investigation by The Chicago Tribune found that Foxx dropped almost 30 percent of all felony cases, including alleged murders, a rate more than one-half higher than the prosecutor's predecessor. Foxx in March began seeking the early release of inmates who've served at least 10 years of their prison sentences for crimes other than homicide or sex offenses. Foxx said the move intended to "not just acknowledge the wrongs of the past, but try to correct them."
But crime has taken The Windy City by storm. Last month, a 911 dispatcher in Chicago criticized Kim and Mayor Lori Lightfoot after a 35 percent spike in year-to-date crime. "It’s crazy here in Chicago," the dispatcher told Fox News. “It's done, the city is done," he said, urging a change of city leadership. "If we don’t get new people in these positions to lead the city, the city is done."
Foxx told The New York Times that Boudin's failed contest is a lesson on counter-messaging: "We have to acknowledge that crime is up, that people are afraid. I think for too many folks when they talk about reform, they don’t talk about the link to public safety.”
Foxx is infamous for dropping all charges in the notorious hoax case against Jussie Smollett, who staged a hate crime against himself and blamed fictitious Trump-loving racist homophobes in "MAGA country" Chicago. Public outcry over the decision led to a damning 60-page investigative report that stemmed from an extensive probe. It discovered that Foxx, along with other "substantial abuses" in the district attorney's mishandling of the case, lied to the public about communications she had with Smollett's younger sister, Jurnee.
Among the false statements, Foxx was not truthful about still being in contact with Smollett's immediate family member after learning the "Empre" actor had become a suspect in the active police investigation, according to the report. Foxx exchanged 17 text messages and five phone calls with Smollett's close relative five days after insisting in February 2019 that she had stopped all correspondence, special prosecutor Dan Webb's report concluded. Foxx supposedly recused herself from the case and later called the Smollett trial following his conviction "a kangaroo prosecution" and "mob justice" in an op-ed for The Chicago Sun-Times.
Just this month, Foxx is surrounded by controversy that hits close to home. WGN News obtained a 911 call log via a public records request of a June domestic dispute that allegedly turned physical between Foxx and her spouse. Foxx's husband, Kelley, dialed 911 on the night of June 4 to report a domestic incident. Kelley can be heard on the call saying, "Don't touch me," and Foxx responded by telling him to get out of the house. According to police records, Kelley said that Foxx grabbed him by the collar and slapped him on the left cheek.
Foxx is also an elected beneficiary of big Soros bucks. Soros pumped $333,000 into Foxx's first DA campaign in 2016 and another jaw-dropping $2 million for Foxx's successful re-election run in 2020.Philadelphia's Larry Krasner
If the Golden Gate City sets a nationwide trend, the rule of activist prosecutors on the East Coast such as Philadelphia district attorney Larry Krasner, a former civil rights lawyer who rose to prominence by suing the government on behalf of activists and protestors, could also be in jeopardy. Krasner had vowed to start "trading jails — and death row — for schools" and "trading division between police and the communities they serve for unity and reconciliation." But Krasner's office hemorrhaged hundreds of attorneys throughout his first term.
Krasner's early days were stained by the mass exodus of 261 veteran prosecutors and rookies, including more than 70 of whom he hired, and a record 562 homicides last year in the City of Brotherly Love. After his election win, Krasner had recruited numerous young progressives, but office morale hit an all-time low and dozens split, joining the senior attorneys that were departing in droves. Jennifer Newman, who worked as a prosecutor in the Philadelphia district attorney's office for three years before she left in August 2021, explained in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer that there was a lack of institutional support and an "unsustainable" caseload.
"I joined this office for a reason. I came to Philly to work for Krasner, because I believed in what he was trying to do," a current staffer on the job hunt said. "I feel betrayed a lot by this office and the promises of what I thought this job was going to be." Some who quit on Krasner complained of ideological clashes and lamented an office climate that punished dissent, a toxic workplace culture that originated with the DA's top lieutenants.
Ex-homicide prosecutor Shuaiyb Newton indicated that seasoned lawyers left because they no longer identified with Krasner's vision. "He wasn't really trying to prosecute. He was trying to indoctrinate," said Newton, who was first intrigued by Krasner's pitch for "equitable justice." When he quit in 2020, Newton said he discovered Krasner was more interested in protecting criminal defendants than ensuring the welfare of victims and the general public. "He would hire people that didn't think anybody belonged in jail at all. Why are you a prosecutor? He hired people who would cry after convicting someone," Newton told The Inquirer.
Last December, Krasner claimed that Philadelphia isn't facing a crime wave. "We don't have a crisis of lawlessness, we don't have a crisis of crime, we don't have a crisis of violence," Krasner said. "It's important that we don't let this become mushy and bleed into the notion that there is some kind of big spike in crime." As of that morning when Krasner tried to pass the buck, the city recorded 521 homicides, up from 462 at that time last year. Shooting incidents were up 4.4 percent while robberies with guns rose to 24.7 percent.
Philadelphia's persisting crime problem made national headlines when Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) was mugged at gun point in a broad daylight car hijacking after touring FDR Park in South Philadelphia.
State Republicans have gone an alternative route to recalling Krasner. GOP lawmakers in Pennsylvania have moved to impeach Krasner, accusing the district attorney of "persistent dereliction of duty" while introducing the articles of impeachment last Monday, which they're confident will gain bipartisan support.
.@EckerRep and other lawmakers announce the start of the impeachment process of Phila. District Attorney Larry Krasner @CBSPhilly pic.twitter.com/G3O78gLeZJ
— Matt Petrillo (@MattPetrillo) June 13, 2022
Krasner is another big name Soros payee. Soros tossed almost $1.7 million Krasner's way in 2017 to dominate the over-crowded Democratic primary already packed with seven candidates.
NYC's Alvin Bragg (Manhattan)
Over in crime-ridden New York City, newly-elected Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has faced immense backlash from law enforcement officials and business owners after his office on his first full workday enacted a torrent of progressive "Day One" policies when he was sworn in at the beginning of this year. Bragg's controversial directives meant to "make us safer" were against jailing a vast number of offenders except for the most violent criminals and ordered prosecutors to downgrade some felony charges to misdemeanors.
The widow of New York City Police Department cop Jason Rivera, who was shot dead in the line of duty while he and his partner Wilbert Mora were responding to a domestic disturbance in Harlem, called out the district attorney during her husband's funeral at the famous St. Patrick's Cathedral in Bragg's jurisdiction. "This system continues to fail us. We are not safe anymore, not even the members of the service," Rivera's surviving wife Dominique Luzuriaga declared from the pulpit to the thousands of mourners gathered. "I know you were tired of these laws, especially the ones from the new DA. I hope he's watching you speak through me right now."
Powerful and heart-wrenching eulogy from NYPD Det. Jason Rivera’s widow
— Mona Salama (@MonaSalama_) January 29, 2022
“You have the whole nation on gridlock. And although you won’t be here anymore, I want you to live through me. The system continues to fail us. We are not safe anymore, not even the members of the service” pic.twitter.com/fxflgug9V7
Although he's facing mounting calls to be removed from office, Bragg's fate lies at the state level.
New York does not have recall elections and the power rests with the governor who is empowered to remove district attorneys whose job performances are failing. The state's unelected drunk-on-power Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul, successor to disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, seems unlikely to intervene under Section 34 of the state Public Officers Law to rid residents of Bragg, given the governor has broad leeway to decide what conduct might warrant removal and who should investigate the matter. Investigators are able to subpoena witnesses for a hearing, which must be held at least eight days after written notice of the proceeding's time and place has been given to the accused. Upon a hearing's conclusion, a report is sent to the governor, who wields the ultimate decision. Removal becomes official once the governor, who also has the ability to appoint a replacement to serve the ex-official's remaining term, issues written notice to the secretary of state, according to The New York Post. Section 34 has seldom been used for such reasons in recent decades.
Over 18,000 have signed a Change.org petition demanding a recall election via an amendment to the state constitution to allow one against Bragg. The revision would require approval of the state legislature and then voters through a ballot referendum. "New York City deserves better," the digital campaign description reads.
Bragg has claimed he hasn't been paying attention to Boudin's recall election. "I'm focused on New York City," he told reporters at NYPD headquarters, The Post reported. "I'm focused on crime here..."
According to a June report from the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, Bragg also benefited from Soros money. The financier of left-wing causes donated over $1 million to Bragg's campaign through the Color of Change political action committee and the state's Justice and Public Safety PAC.
Portland's Mike Schmidt (Multnomah County)
Throughout much of the 2020 consecutive riots, Multnomah County district attorney Mike Schmidt's office was declining to bring down the hammer on the revolving door of Antifa-BLM activists wreaking havoc in riot-riddled Portland. The Rose City's head prosecutor has admitted on Twitter he's "old buddies" with an Antifa militant actively campaigning to defund the police, abolish prisons, and demand reparations. Just before Schmidt was sworn in, he sat down for an hour-long interview with anti-fascist social media personality Awkword. The pair's 20-year friendship began at Vassar College in New York at a time when it was dominated by "what general society would deem as radicals" who made the then left-of-center duo "look like conservatives."
Just before I was sworn in as DA, I sat down with an old buddy of mine, @AWKWORDrap, for an interview about my priorities as District Attorney and rethinking what public safety means. Check it out: https://t.co/v6NBHgUrMp
— Mike Schmidt (@DAMikeSchmidt) August 8, 2020
"As a DA, people probably assume that your mission is to put people in jail," Awkword prefaced the conversation. "I know that's not what you do," he added. Awkword praised alternative programs to incarceration as an "incremental step" to "utilize prisons less," adding: "I definitely see you as an ally in that effort." Schmidt alleged that the Portland riots "are nothing like the armageddon that the Trump administration is trying to portray our city." The leftists activists were protesting for issues that were "completely consistent" with the platform Schmidt ran on, he said, such as the elimination of mandatory minimum sentencing.
"This dystopian image that is being painted nationally is not at all what it looks like on our streets," Schmidt continued during the video call. "We have amazing people out every night talking about the systemic racism in our criminal justice system." Awkword questioned what Schmidt considers "fair punishment." To which, Schmidt claimed that the criminal justice system was built on "white supremacist culture."
In August 2020, Schmidt announced during a press conference that his office would drop charges against numerous rioters accused of low-level crimes since the end of May that year. The policy would only pursue charges against suspects who deliberately destroyed property, used force against another individual, or threatened to do so. "This policy acknowledges that the factors that lead to the commission of criminal activity during a protest are incredibly complex. The protesters are angry, yes..." Schmidt said, calling it "instinctive reactions of people who have been gassed repeatedly, who have been struck with kinetic projectile weapons."
During his inauguration speech, Schmidt condemned the criminal justice system "as it is currently constituted," arguing that "we've implemented broken policies that have destroyed communities while failing to meaningfully deter crime." At the time, Schmidt said that the massive protests over George Floyd's death in Minneapolis police custody "taught us lessons we should have learned decades ago, and we fail to internalize them at our peril. The first: Black Lives Matter. Again: Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter."
Four months later, Schmidt struck a harsher tone when addressing the destructive civil unrest his office has contended with, stating that the "violence and property destruction we've seen…is unacceptable."
But most riot cases since George Floyd's death were dropped and a majority were rejected in the "interest of justice," according to data released by the Multnomah County District Attorney's office in October 2020.
Milwaukee's John Chisholm
Milwaukee County district attorney John Chisholm's campaign website markets the incumbent as "a bold reformer with a track record of keeping our community safe" who's "created a nationally acclaimed community prosecution program that stations experienced prosecutors in neighborhoods throughout Milwaukee County, where they work with residents, businesses, and nonprofits to combat crime at the ground level."
But crime in Chisholm's city was caught the nation's attention when career criminal Darrell Brooks allegedly killed six victims and injured dozens by plowing his SUV into a crowd at the annual Waukesha Christmas Parade on Nov. 21. Brooks was released from custody just 10 days prior to the massacre that left a child dead and kids hospitalized. One of Chisholm's prosecutors recommended a mere $1,000 bail when Brooks was charged with using the same vehicle to run over the mother of his child. Many grieving community members wondered if Brooks had been kept in jail, the carnage at the holiday event might have been avoided.
Several state residents filed a complaint demanding that Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers fire Chisholm, but it was rejected in January for not meeting the legal standards needed to initiate removal proceedings. "Tony Evers failed the community of Waukesha tonight, and families across Wisconsin will be extremely disappointed by his choice. Wisconsinites cannot count on him to keep them safe," Republican Party of Wisconsin chairman Paul Farrow remarked, firing back at the Democratic governor for having "the gall to suggest that there weren't enough 'facts' to fire John Chisholm. Here are the facts: John Chisholm’s office allowed a decades-long violent criminal to walk free and kill six people in Waukesha, and Tony Evers is refusing to hold him accountable."
Tony Evers failed the community of Waukesha tonight, and families across Wisconsin will be extremely disappointed by his choice. Wisconsinites cannot count on him to keep them safe.
— Paul Farrow (@PaulFarrowWi) January 12, 2022
Fairfax County's Steve Descano
In GOP-swept Virginia, a Soros-funded prosecutor is flying under the national radar.
Fairfax County commonwealth attorney Steve Descano's leniency granted repeat offender Gerald Brevard freedom prior to allegedly shooting five homeless men in a shooting spree spanning from New York City to Washington, DC, and killing two of the victims. In late 2020, Brevard was arrested in Fairfax County and charged with three felonies: abduction and attempt to defile for attacking a hotel housekeeper, and burglary for breaking into a nearby apartment. Brevard, who faced 26 years to life under Virginia law, pleaded guilty in a sweetheart deal with Descano's office to two misdemeanors and served just five months months behind bars.
Descano, who had no previous background in criminal law, ascended to top prosecutor, thanks, largely in part, to campaign cash provided by Soros. $659,000 was handed to Descano through PACs funded by the philanthropist's bottomless wallet. Another $50,000 came from groups or individuals with close Soros ties.
The lesser-known Soros pick could also be out of a job for his similar soft treatment of perpetrators with long rap sheets that are seemingly allowed to roam free unchecked. Two efforts to recall Descano are currently ongoing. The first campaign was started by Stand Up Virginia in April 2021 and supported by the Fairfax County Republican Committee. The second effort to "dump Descano" was launched last August by Virginians for Safe Communities, which he dismissed as "far-right ideologues" engaging in "a Trump-style effort."
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