WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal grand jurors in the nation's capital have refused to indict two people who were charged separately with threatening to kill President Donald Trump, more evidence of a growing backlash against Trump's law enforcement intervention in Washington, D.C.
It is extraordinarily rare for a grand jury to balk at returning an indictment, but it has happened at least seven times in five cases since Trump last month ordered a surge in patrols by federal agents and troops in the District
of Columbia. One of the instances involved the case against a man charged with hurling a sandwich at a federal agent.
The latest example occurred Tuesday, when Justice Department prosecutors told a magistrate judge that a grand jury declined to indict Edward Alexander Dana. He is accused of making a death threat against Trump while in police custody on Aug. 17. Dana also told police that he was intoxicated that night.
Grand jurors also refused to hand up an indictment against Nathalie Rose Jones, who was arrested Aug. 16 in Washington on charges that she made death threats against Trump on social media and during an interview with Secret Service agents. Jones' attorney disclosed the decision in a court filing Monday.
Dana's lawyer, Elizabeth Mullin, said she has never seen anything like this in over 20 years as a public defender in Washington. She said prosecutors are responding to Trump's surge by bringing “weak cases” that don't belong in federal court.
“And the grand juries are seeing through it,” Mullin said. “It's a huge waste in resources.”
Last month, a grand jury refused to indict a government attorney who was facing a felony assault charge for throwing a “sub-style” sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection agent — a confrontation captured on a viral video.
Three grand juries voted separately against indicting a woman accused of assaulting an FBI agent outside the city’s jail in July, where she was recording video of the transfer of inmates into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
A grand jury also rejected an indictment against a man who was arrested on an assault charge by a U.S. Park Police officer with the assistance of National Guard members.
Grand jury proceedings are secret, so the reasons for their decisions don't become public. But the string of rebukes has fueled speculation that residents serving on grand juries are using their votes to protest against the White House's surge.
“Grand juries, judges, we will not simply go along with the flow,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said during a hearing last week for a surge-related criminal case.
A spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Pirro posted a comment on Jones' case two days after her arrest.
“Threatening the life of the President is one of the most serious crimes and one that will be met with swift and unwavering prosecution. Make no mistake — justice will be served,” Pirro wrote on X.
Dana was arrested on suspicion of damaging a light fixture at a restaurant. An officer was driving Dana to a police station when he threatened to kill Trump, according to a Secret Service agent's affidavit. The officer's body camera captured Dana saying he was “not going to tolerate fascism” and would “protect the Constitution by any means necessary.”
“And that means killing you, officer, killing the president, killing anyone who stands in the way of our Constitution,” he said, according to the affidavit.
Prosecutors said Jones, 50, of Lafayette, Indiana, posted a Aug. 6 message on Facebook that she was “willing to sacrificially kill this POTUS by disemboweling him and cutting out his trachea.” When Secret Service agents questioned her on Aug. 15, Jones said she hoped to peacefully remove Trump from office but “will kill him out at the compound if I have to,” according to prosecutors. Jones was arrested a day later in Washington, where she joined a protest near the White House.
Petras said Jones repeatedly told Secret Service agents that she had no intent to harm anyone, didn't own any weapons and went to Washington to peacefully protest.
