Grand juries in deep-blue cities are rejecting indictments in cases brought by President Trump’s Department of Justice, signaling a growing refusal to hold left-wing activists accountable. In Washington, D.C., jurors have refused to indict multiple individuals arrested during Trump’s federal law enforcement crackdown, even in repeat cases.
Since early August, at least seven federal cases in D.C. have failed to secure indictments. These include three separate attempts to indict Sidney Reid, accused of assaulting an FBI agent. In each instance, jurors declined. Prosecutors ultimately reduced the charges to a misdemeanor. Another case involved Sean Charles Dunn, a former DOJ paralegal who threw a sandwich at a federal agent. The grand jury again refused to indict.
Judge Zia Faruqui, appointed to oversee many of these cases, has openly criticized the administration’s law-and-order strategy. Faruqui accused U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro of pursuing excessive charges and unnecessarily detaining defendants. His courtroom comments accused prosecutors of engaging in “oppression” and pushing for “felony cases that don’t need to be felony cases.”
Pirro, in response, blamed the failure to indict on D.C.’s political climate. She described the grand jurors as “elitist” and accused them of disregarding public safety. Her office highlighted several incidents where charges involved threats to law enforcement or the president himself, including Nathalie Rose Jones and Edward Alexander Dana, both accused of threatening President Trump. Neither case resulted in an indictment.
The cases reflect a wider pattern in left-leaning jurisdictions. Prosecutors charged Alvin Summers with assaulting a Park Police officer, but the grand jury declined to indict. Each refusal signals growing resistance from jurors unwilling to support federal crackdowns against protesters and agitators aligned with progressive movements.
Federal law enforcement under President Trump’s leadership sought to restore order in cities experiencing heightened violence and civil unrest. The DOJ’s strategy prioritized strong prosecution of threats to law enforcement and public officials. Grand juries rejecting indictments in politically sympathetic jurisdictions pose a direct challenge to that strategy.
Critics view the trend as a breakdown of equal justice under law, where political bias shields activists from accountability. D.C.’s pattern of failed prosecutions stands in contrast to other jurisdictions where similar conduct would likely result in indictments and convictions.
