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Vindictive Cycle of Revenge – 1776 Returns

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We are at war, a seemingly civil one. The bloodshed is not apparent to the average American. This is the way of lawfare in a politically weaponized nation, especially when the side receiving all the incoming mortar does nothing but cower in foxholes and agree to retreat, giving the aggressors more firing space.

The casualties are there, if you have eyes to see.

Last week, on August 28, Nejourde “Jord” Meacham, age 22, took his own life two weeks after he was charged with four non-violent misdemeanors for January 6.

According to the Statement of Facts on the DOJ website, Jord was inside the Capitol for less than 10 minutes.

Four. Non-violent. Misdemeanors.

Twenty two years old.

Jord Meacham

Jord is the sixth known J6 defendant to have committed suicide.

What is so daunting that a man would choose death over the court room? Did Jord fear the government he was protesting? Did he see that the First Amendment was already dead? It’s not my place to speculate what this young man mourned or feared. I only know his death affected me deeply. As does the death of 1A, but that’s another piece.

The 5th and 14th Amendments, though.

Due process, protected by the 5th Amendment on a federal level and by the 14th Amendment state-wise, is the foundation of the U.S. criminal-justice system.

Vindictive prosecution has been defined by the United States Court of Appeals for the
Seventh Circuit as conduct that originates from “specific animus or ill will” or that occurs when a
prosecutor “charges a more serious violation . . . in retaliation for the exercise of a legal or
constitutional right in connection with the original charge.” United States v. DeMichael, 692F.2d 1059, 1061-62 (7th Cir. 1982)

Vindictive prosecution violates the Due Process Clauses of the 5th and 14th Amendments.

And, boy, do we have examples of vindictive prosecution in these cases.

After the immediate arrests on J6 and in the days to come, the pre-dawn, Regime-driven raids began. Many defendants were refused bond. Some were granted it locally only to have DC Magistrate judges step in to revoke. The unfortunate took the long route through Grady County, Oklahoma and Con-Air flights to the DC Gulag.

Arrests were followed by investigations, more arrests, and more investigations. Agents were pulled from everywhere, including child trafficking cases, to investigate these “dangerous rioters,” many of whom had no criminal history at all. Meanwhile, dozens of rioters remained behind bars for months on end, some without bond hearings.

It was reminiscent of the fallout from the Summer of Love Riots of 2020.

<record scratch>

Ok, maybe not.

The majority of the defendants receive the “standard 5 misdemeanors” as the legal defense teams have adoringly come to refer to the typical charges. In time, prosecution teams often travel to the bonded defendants’ hometowns on Americans’ dime for reverse proffers which are negotiation (fear) tactics where evidence and information is presented to pressure defendants into plea deals. This evidence can be exaggerated or even straight up lied about.

The message is clear and audible: take the deal or you’ll be sorry.

Some are asked to “cooperate.” For those with weak bowels or starving children that might seem like a good option. And when all is said and done, whether their charges are dropped, their sentences are unabashedly light, or their cases are quietly sealed, the community knows.

We know. And we get it. But don’t expect us to trust you anymore.

In case after case, the prosecutorial retaliation is real.

Ask Joseph Thomas whose arrest came with 6 charges. Public refusals to perjure himself by accepting a plea deal brought on 2 more Grand Juries and a total of 12 charges before he went to trial in June 2023.

Mark Sahady was arrested and released on bond in January 2021. He had the standard 5 misdemeanors. His co-defendant took a plea deal for the same charges and served less than a month. He declined the plea offer.

Two years after his arrest, he woke up one morning to discover he had been spanked with an additional felony charge. No new evidence, just a 1512 Obstruction of Justice charge. Now he faces 20+ years.

Deb Lee was just weeks away from trial on four misdemeanors when the
prosecution issued its superceding indictment adding the additional 1512 charge.

According to a motion penned by attorney Roger Roots and filed by John Pierce Law in her defense,
“The prosecution admitted there was no new evidence, just the government’s sudden new vision and interpretation of the evidence.”

The defense’s motion concluded by pointing out a short list of the plethora of cases intended to crush due process:

The government followed that move with a refusal to grant any extension to prepare for a now felony-level trial.

In the case of US v Gunby, just last week, after plea refusal, the government sent John Pierce Law (JPL) an email notifying of their intent to slap their client with a 1512 obstruction charge. JPL responded with an emergency notice respectfully making the court aware of the incoming retaliation.

Judge Friedman responded in a curious way by converting the notice to a motion and denying it. Without even giving JPL an opportunity to respond.

Roger Roots told me he would have beefed it up quite a bit if it were meant to be a motion to dismiss versus a notice.

Most importantly, the government, in its response didn’t even cite any new information, new evidence, or any new way it looked at the evidence, just as they did in Deb Lee’s case. The government simply said it had the power to do so.  And the judge just agreed.

Sounds like grounds for appeal to me. But I’m no attorney.

Proud Boys leader, Joe Biggs‘ attorney, Norm Pattis refers to the practice of retaliation after plea refusal as “trial tax.

It’s become common practice to point out the two-tiered system of justice when comparing

the prosecutorial and judicial treatment of Summer of Love rioters v. Jan 6 rioters,

but did you see the news from Georgia?

“This is the same statute Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis has used to charge former President Donald Trump and 18 other people for questionable alleged crimes related to the challenging of the state’s 2020 election results.”

We all know they overplayed their hand, revenge is sweet, and the tides will turn.

How’s that for a cliché hat-trick?

RIP Jord Meachum.

For the rest of you, the beatings will continue until morale improves.

If you need support, seriously, please call 833-SAVEDJ6.