WASHINGTON, DC - A judge in Washington, DC, who is facing outrage after releasing a teenager accused of firing over two dozen rounds at a car full of people, has apparently undergone a renaissance over the past three years. Or maybe he’s just a raging racist. Or a progressive activist. Or both.
Magistrate Judge Lloyd U. Nolan, who is on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, is being slammed after releasing 18-year-old Amonte Moody from custody despite him using the evil AR-15 to shoot at a car occupied by four people, according to Fox News Digital. For reference, Moody is black.
Nolan wasn’t so lenient in 2021, however. In that case, 44-year-old Donald Craighead of Oceanside, California, was arrested after DC police said they found weapons in a pickup truck displaying white supremacist symbols while in the area of Democratic National Committee headquarters. In that case, Craighead–who shot at nobody–was held without bond. For reference, Craighead is white. Same judge–two separate cases–one white suspect, one black–two completely different approaches.
In the case of Craighead, he had made a series of “racist, bigoted, and otherwise bizarre comments” to police officers before and after he was arrested, according to CNBC. In a court filing, special agents said he “exhibited signs of possible mental illness” throughout an interview. Craighead’s only charge was carrying a dangerous weapon outside of his home or place of business. His only weapon in the vehicle was a large hunting knife–no firearms.
Contrast that with the case involving Moody, who was arrested for endangerment with a firearm, possession of a weapon, and assault. In that case, despite firing over 24 rounds out of an AR-15 at a moving vehicle, Nolan said Moody was “not a threat” to the community and released him on house arrest with GPS monitoring, according to WJLA-TV.
Nolan’s approach to Moody’s case should come as no surprise. Fox News Digital reported that Nolan’s presence online showed “examples of progressive activism,” with the judge even bragging that he was “woke,” and posts promoting Black Lives Matter and another post showing he donated to a fundraiser supporting a professor with ties to Marxist billionaire George Soros.
He donated to a “charity” called Gideon’s Promise, founded in 2007 through a fellowship with Soros’ Open Society Foundation in support of a professor named Jonathan Rapping. Gideon’s Promise touts itself as “a nonprofit public defender organization whose mission is to transform the criminal justice system by building a movement of public defenders who provide equal justice for marginalized communities.”
The organization was founded by Rapping, a professor at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School.
“We envision a nation where every person has access to zealous, outstanding legal representation necessary to ensure ‘equal justice for all’ in the criminal justice arena,” the organization’s website says.
“Our programs and partnerships are uniquely tailored to support and strengthen the efficacy of public defenders as a critical part of systemic criminal justice reform. Public defenders are frontline advocates for the accused in this country, and we are committed to nurturing and developing their skills at every career level to produce fairer outcomes for America’s most vulnerable citizens.”
Fox News Digital contacted Nolan to comment on his social media posts but received no response. The outlet noted that Nolan’s Facebook page was set to private shortly after the request.
Screenshots obtained from Nolan’s Facebook page before it went private included a “black power” fist and another post that said, “2019 Still Woke.”
After Nolan decided to release Moody, posters on social media were outraged, and prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., requested an emergency hearing scheduled for May 22 to discuss and possibly reverse his decision.
“The government presented evidence establishing probable cause that the defendant fired an AR-15 weapon approximately 26 times at a car driving away on a public street in the 1700 block of Independence Ave SE, then disassembled the firearm and hid it away in a ceiling,” they wrote.
“Despite the egregiousness of this conduct, the strength of the case, including video evidence depicting it and two identifications of the defendant as the shooter, and the statutory presumption in favor of detention pending trial, the Magistrate Judge released the defendant.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the D.C. court system told Fox News defendants “have a presumption of innocence.”
“In this matter–after hearing arguments from both sides and arguments for detention–the judge determined that 24-hour home confinement on electronic monitoring with the education and social services already in place for the defendant that release, on these strict conditions, did ‘ensure the safety of the defendant and the public,” the spokesperson added.
They also told Fox that the defense “relied heavily” on Moody's lack of priors and claimed he was provided with “educational support” and family and community resources.
“Judge Nolan conducted a very thorough hearing…and spoke directly with defendant about the consequences of violating any portion of the release conditions,” the spokesperson continued.
The fact that Moody met the preferred demographic of Nolan also probably didn’t hurt.
But…that “evilllll” AR-15…let’s take it away from lawful gun owners.
Comments
2024-05-16T08:23-0400 | Comment by: Michael
Was the judge correct, or is he exhibiting a racial bias? One way to help evaluate is to reverse the ethnicity of the parties involved. That is, what if the judge and defendant were both white? What would one say in such a case? There's your answer!
2024-05-16T22:21-0400 | Comment by: DS
AND "They" say that BLACKS can not be RACIST because they are black... one day that kind will pay a heavy price for their lack of BRAINS.