The final charges against the remaining activists arrested for their role in protests during President Donald Trump’s inauguration have been dropped, more than a year and a half after the group was arrested in Washington, DC.
The rioting charges against the remaining 38 activists were dismissed by federal prosecutors on Friday, effectively ending the government’s efforts to imprison more than 200 members of the Disrupt J20 protests who participated in the inaugural weekend demonstrations.
The dismissals come months after the first six protesters tried were acquitted on charges of felony property destruction, misdemeanor conspiracy to riot, and misdemeanor rioting. Shortly thereafter, prosecutors dropped felony rioting charges against an additional 129 protesters, choosing instead to focus on what they said was a “smaller, core group that we believe is most responsible for the destruction and violence that took place.”
