By Louis Flores
As New Yorkers increasingly protest against the regressive policies, such as the Muslim travel ban, of the administration of President Donald Trump,
citizen activities, such as participating in political demonstrations,
may become a subject of interest to Federal prosecutors, according to
research collected by Progress Queens.
The interest of Federal
prosecutors in the protest activities of activists is sourced in Federal
manuals applicable to U.S. Attorneys, including in some provisions in
the United States Attorneys' Manual and the 2008 Attorney General's Guidelines for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Domestic Operations.
In
New York, the Federal prosecutors, who could assert jurisdiction over
investigations of the peaceful and lawful protests of citizens, are U.S.
Attorney Preet Bharara of Manhattan and U.S. Attorney Robert Capers
of Brooklyn. For this report, the role of U.S. Attorney Bharara will
serve as a focus due to his public campaign to fight corruption,
including corruption in Government, and for his acknowledgement that the
public has a role in fighting to reform Government. The information
reviewed for this report was obtained, in part, from a lawsuit filed by
the publisher of Progress Queens against the U.S. Department of Justice
seeking records about the policies, procedures, and manuals applicable
to the Government's prosecution of activists. Many questions remain
unanswered, because the DOJ has refused to release records it has
acknowledged to exist and that are highly likely to exist. Assistant
U.S. Attorneys Rukhsanah Singh and Kathleen Mahoney in Brooklyn and Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela George
in Washington, DC, opposed or thwarted efforts made by Progress Queens
for the release of the requested records. Chief Magistrate Judge Roanne Mann and U.S. District Court Judge Joan Azrack
ruled against Progress Queens in lower court proceedings that sought
the release of the requested records. Progress Queens has filed a notice
to appeal the Hon. Judge Azrack's ruling.
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Source: Progress Queens (Transparency Reports)
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