Bronx district attorney recommends dismissing summonses given to hundreds of protesters

The district attorney for Bronx County, New York, announced Tuesday that her office would recommend that charges be dropped for more than 300 protesters who were arrested during a protest in the borough in response to the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed during an encounter with Minneapolis police.

District Attorney Darcel Clark (D) said in a statement that her office would file a motion to dismiss “more than 300 summonses” issued for curfew violations during the demonstrations on June 4, explaining that she saw “no purpose” in prosecuting low-level curfew violations as a result of a protest.

“I believe in and encourage our Bronx residents to raise their voices to protest social and racial injustice in a peaceful way. I said back in June that I would not prosecute protestors simply for violating the curfew. While my Office does not prosecute summonses, I will file a motion with the court to dismiss theses summonses, which were issued June 4 in the Mott Haven section, in the interest of justice. The people who received these summonses are due back in court on them on October 2, 2020,” Clark said.

“As the COVID-19 virus is still very much with us, and the courts are trying to limit inperson appearances, I believe it serves no purpose to summon hundreds of people to the courthouse for low-level violations. These unprecedented times require prosecutors to be flexible as well as compassionate,” she continued.

City and state leaders instituted a one-night curfew on June 1, which Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) later extended for several days, in response to protests across New York City over Floyd’s death. The city and dozens of others erupted in protest over Floyd’s death, and many demonstrations have continued for weeks in response to the deaths of other Black Americans, including Breonna Taylor, and the late August shooting of Jacob Blake.

De Blasio’s daughter, Chiara de Blasio, was one of many arrested during protests at the time and later saw her arrest record posted on Twitter by a local police union.