Desiree Fairooz: Charges dropped against peace activist who laughed as Jeff Sessions sworn in
Anti-war protestor facing prosecution for disrupting Congress
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A peace activist who laughed at then US Senator Jeff Sessions during his confirmation hearing to become US Attorney General will no longer be prosecuted on charges of disrupting a session of Congress and demonstrating at the Capitol.
The US attorney for the District of Columbia filed court papers on Monday, notifying a judge her office was dropping its case against Desiree Fairooz, a children’s librarian.
Fairooz had faced up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine if she were convicted on both charges at trial.
She belonged to Code Pink, an anti-war group that often stages protests against politicians. The group accused federal prosecutors of overreaching and wasting money on the case.
“We hope they will scale back this massive overreach and that the success we just saw in Desiree’s case will encourage more people to protest in the halls of Congress and on the streets,” Code Pink said in a statement on Tuesday.
Fairooz laughed during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in January, after a lawmaker’s asserted Sessions treated all Americans equally. It was at the confirmation hearing for Sessions, who was then a Republican senator from Alabama and was later confirmed to become US Attorney General.
Fairooz shouted, “This man is evil, pure evil” as police led her away. A jury found Fairooz guilty in May of disrupting a session of Congress and demonstrating on Capitol grounds.
But a judge for the District of Columbia Superior Court overturned the guilty verdict in July and ordered a new trial. Chief Judge Robert Morin found it was unclear whether Fairooz was convicted for laughter or for speaking out as she was removed, Fairooz’s attorney, Samuel Bogash, said at the time.
A spokesman for the US Attorney for the District of Columbia said in an email on Tuesday that his office had no comment on the decision to dismiss the case.
A second trial for Fairooz had been scheduled for 13 November, but Morin canceled it after prosecutors dropped the case.
Reuters
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments