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WASHINGTON — A jury found a woman not guilty Thursday of assaulting an FBI agent during an ICE arrest outside DC Jail.
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/legal/sidney-reid-trial-not-guilty-fbi-agent-ice-arrest-assault-charge-dc-jail/65-fa3b180e-e72f-43d2-ad36-bbcc91fad9d0
The verdict comes after less than two hours of deliberation on the third day of the trial of Sidney Lori Reid, which had been marred by several issues with prosecutors’ evidence. Reid smiled and hugged her attorneys as cheers came from the gallery when the verdict was announced.
Reid was accused of assaulting FBI agent Eugenia Bates back in July while being detained. She was outside DC Jail filming Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who were waiting to arrest two people. As she was filming, ICE officer Vincent Liang grabbed her arms and began to detain her against a wall, surveillance video shown during the trial showed.
While he was struggling with Reid, Bates got involved. Prosecutors argued that though there was no contact, a jerk movement that Reid made with her knee near Bates’ groin during that struggle constitutes simple assault.
During closing arguments, assistant federal public defender Tezira Abe painted the group of ICE officers and FBI agents as a “goon squad” that thinks they are above the law.
“You should be livid that the government brought this case,” Abe told the jury.
A felony version of the charge was rejected three times by grand juries, before U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro’s office moved to bring this lesser, misdemeanor charge. During grand jury testimony, Liang claimed that Reid was the one who made first contact. U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan said Wednesday that video evidence showed that wasn’t true. He was not brought as a witness during the trial — something Abe questioned in closing.
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/legal/sidney-reid-trial-not-guilty-fbi-agent-ice-arrest-assault-charge-dc-jail/65-fa3b180e-e72f-43d2-ad36-bbcc91fad9d0
The verdict comes after less than two hours of deliberation on the third day of the trial of Sidney Lori Reid, which had been marred by several issues with prosecutors’ evidence. Reid smiled and hugged her attorneys as cheers came from the gallery when the verdict was announced.
Reid was accused of assaulting FBI agent Eugenia Bates back in July while being detained. She was outside DC Jail filming Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who were waiting to arrest two people. As she was filming, ICE officer Vincent Liang grabbed her arms and began to detain her against a wall, surveillance video shown during the trial showed.
While he was struggling with Reid, Bates got involved. Prosecutors argued that though there was no contact, a jerk movement that Reid made with her knee near Bates’ groin during that struggle constitutes simple assault.
During closing arguments, assistant federal public defender Tezira Abe painted the group of ICE officers and FBI agents as a “goon squad” that thinks they are above the law.
“You should be livid that the government brought this case,” Abe told the jury.
A felony version of the charge was rejected three times by grand juries, before U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro’s office moved to bring this lesser, misdemeanor charge. During grand jury testimony, Liang claimed that Reid was the one who made first contact. U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan said Wednesday that video evidence showed that wasn’t true. He was not brought as a witness during the trial — something Abe questioned in closing.
