US prosecutors fail three times to secure indictment in FBI assault case

Washington: Federal prosecutors failed three times to persuade a grand jury to indict a woman accused of assaulting an FBI agent during an immigration operation in Washington, DC, last month, a highly unusual failure as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to aggressively charge street crime in the nation's capital.

Three different federal grand juries declined to indict Sydney Reid for assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, prosecutors disclosed in a court filing late on Monday. Prosecutors then downgraded the offense to a misdemeanor.

It is rare for a grand jury to reject a request for an indictment, given that the legal standard is lower than to secure a conviction at trial, and prosecutors alone control the presentation of evidence.

“The US Attorney can try to concoct crimes to quiet the people, but in our criminal justice system, the citizens have the last word,” Tezira Abe and Eugene Ohm, lawyers representing Reid, said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The charges were filed against Reid before Trump deployed federal agents and National Guard troops to Washington to crack down on crime, but the case illustrates the challenges prosecutors face as the Trump administration orders an aggressive approach to charging cases.

US prosecutors in Washington sought to bring a felony assault charge against Reid, accusing her of pushing the FBI agent’s hand against a cement wall. The July 22 confrontation happened as Reid was filming officers who were transferring two men accused of gang activity into federal immigration custody outside a Washington jail, according to court documents.

The alleged assault occurred while Reid was being pinned against the wall by federal agents. Officers sought to subdue her after she attempted to get between law enforcement and one of the suspects, according to a charging document.