Judge Throws Book At PA Rioters, Sets Bail At $1 Million Making Sure They Stay Locked Up
A Pennsylvania judge dropped the hammer on a bunch of protesters who turned into rioters by setting their bail at $1 million each.
Lancaster police arrested close to a dozen people for rioting and the high bail amount means they will not be getting back out any time soon.
Social justice advocacy group Lancaster Stands Up ripped the judge: “The absurdly high bail amounts indicate that what we’re seeing is not a measured pursuit of justice, but a politically motivated attack on the movement for police reform and accountability.
We’re calling on our elected leaders—including Mayor @DaneneSorace, @PAAttorneyGen, @GovernorTomWolf & @JohnFetterman —to step in and defend Taylor, Kathryn and other peaceful protestors against the politically motivated actions of local law enforcement, prosecutors and judges.”
From The New York Post:
The mob marched from the scene of the shooting on Laurel Street to the police station, chucking glass bottles, rocks, brick, gallon jugs filled with liquid and plastic road barricades at cops, police said.
A county vehicle parked in front of the station was also damaged.
Twelve adults — Jamal Shariff Newman, 24; Barry Jones, 30; Frank Gaston, 43; Yoshua Dwayne Montague, 23; Matthew Modderman, 31; Talia Gessner, 18; Kathryn Patterson, 20; Taylor Enterline, 20; T-Jay Fry, 28; Dylan Davis, 28; Lee Alexander Wise, 29; Jessica Marie Lopez, 32 — face a slew of felony and misdemeanor charges, including arson, riot, institutional vandalism and criminal conspiracy.
A 16-year-old boy was also busted on riot, disorderly conduct, possession of instruments of crime, possession of a small amount of marijuana, propulsion of missiles onto a roadway and institutional vandalism.
Montague, of York, Penn., faces an additional charge of illegal possession of a firearm.
Magisterial District Judge Bruce A. Roth set bail for nine of the defendants — Newman, Jones, Montague, Modderman, Gessner, Patterson, Enterline, Fry and Davis — at $1 million apiece, with court records showing all were unable to post.
They’re being held at the Lancaster County Prison.
Bail information was not available for Lopez and bail was set at $100,000 for Wise, who was also unable to post.
The absurdly high bail amounts indicate that what we're seeing is not a measured pursuit of justice, but a politically motivated attack on the movement for police reform and accountability.
— Lancaster Stands Up (@lancstandsup) September 15, 2020
We're calling on our elected leaders—including Mayor @DaneneSorace, @PAAttorneyGen @GovernorTomWolf & @JohnFetterman—to step in and defend Taylor, Kathryn and other peaceful protestors against the politically motivated actions of local law enforcement, prosecutors and judges.
— Lancaster Stands Up (@lancstandsup) September 15, 2020