trump justice a jury just convicted a woman for...

Trump Justice

A JURY JUST CONVICTED A WOMAN FOR LAUGHINGAT JEFF SESSIONSThe Justice Department prosecuted Desiree Fairooz for “disorderly and disruptive

conduct” and for “parading, demonstrating, or picketing within the Capitol.” She,

along with two other protesters, could face a year in prison.

BY T I N A N G U Y E NMAY 3, 2017 12:02 PM

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The Justice Department will not press federal charges against two white Baton

Rouge police officers involved in last year's shooting death of a black man, Alton

Sterling, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday, bringing renewed attention to

how Attorney General Jeff Sessions, already controversial, is choosing to deal

with allegations of police bias and racially motivated shootings. The decision is

not entirely surprising: federal civil rights charges in such cases are rare, due to the high burden

of proof, and even the Obama-era D.O.J. repeatedly declined to charge police officers involved

in high-profile deaths. Still, it is stunning to see what cases Donald Trump’s attorney general

has decided to prosecute.

On Wednesday, a jury convicted a 61-year-old female activist who had laughed during

Sessions’s January confirmation hearing in the Senate. Desiree Fairooz, a longtime protester

affiliated with the anti-war group Code Pink, had been escorted out of the room for laughing in

response to Senator Richard Shelby's assertion that Sessions had a “clear and

well-documented” history of “treating all Americans equally under the law.” (Sessions had, in

fact, been denied a federal judgeship in 1986 because of a history of racially charged remarks,

and Shelby himself had once run a campaign ad suggesting that Sessions was a Klan

sympathizer.) Fairooz, along with two other protesters, faces up to a year in prison.

By Mark Wilson/Getty Images.

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Another protester escorted out of Sessions hearing. Her original

offense appeared to be simply laughing.

7:12 AM - 10 Jan 2017

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Ryan J. Reilly@ryanjreilly

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The Huffington Post’s Ryan J. Reilly, who was covering the hearing at the time, reported that

Fairooz’s laugh was not disruptive to the hearing and did not interrupt Shelby’s speech. But

Fairooz was arrested by a rookie Capitol police officer on her second week on the job who,

according to Reilly, “had never conducted an arrest before nor worked at a congressional

hearing.” Nevertheless, Katherine Coronado and the Capitol police booked Fairooz. She was

later charged by the government with “disorderly and disruptive conduct” for her laugh, as well

as a second charge for “parading, demonstrating, or picketing within the Capitol” as she was

being led out.

Fairooz has protested at several congressional hearings, and likely knows the difference

between being intentionally disruptive and respectful of decorum. “Why am I being taken out

of here?” she asked as she was arrested. “I was going to be quiet, and now you’re going to have

me arrested? For what?”

During Fairooz’s trial on Monday, fellow Code Pink activist Ariel Gold testified that Fairooz

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was funny enough to warrant a laugh and noted that Fairooz was laughing “very loudly”

—enough for people to turn their heads and look at her.

Fairooz was convicted along with Tighe Barry and Lenny Bianchi, who both dressed as

K.K.K. members to protest Sessions and had been charged with breaking Senate rules.

The decision to prosecute the three protesters suggests a distinctly Trumpian approach to law

and order has taken hold within the Justice Department. It is also sure to have a chilling effect

on protest and other forms of free speech that are already in the Trump administration’s

crosshairs. On Sunday, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said that pushing for a

change to the nation’s libel laws “is being looked at”—a move that would restrict the press,

though one that many legal experts suggest isn’t going anywhere. Trump has previously

suggested that “We're going to open up the libel laws so when they write falsely we can sue the

media and we can get these stories corrected and get damages.” He has also taken aim at

protesters directly, claiming without evidence in February that an unspecified demonstration

was composed of “professional anarchists” and “thugs.” He is currently facing multiple

lawsuits accusing him of inciting violence against protesters at his rallies.

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Donald Trump vs. Women

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TINA NGUYENTina Nguyen is a reporter for The Hive, covering politics and the media.

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