Soros-backed Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx preemptively announced she won’t prosecute “peaceful” protesters at the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
This sudden shift toward leniency contradicts the stance she took in April, according to Wirepoints.
While focusing on “peaceful” protesters, Foxx also announced in advance that she won’t prosecute anyone arrested for misdemeanors such as disorderly conduct, public demonstration, unlawful gathering, criminal trespass to state-supported land, and even curfew charges.
This policy isn’t new. The prosecutor, who received a $408,000 donation from a George Soros super PAC in 2016, has upheld it since at least the 2020 riots, releasing hundreds of protesters over the years—even those involved in property damage.
Despite her current stance on leniency, Foxx took a tougher tone in April when she told the Chicago Tribune that her previous policy, outlined in a November 15 memo, would be set aside, suggesting that protesters could face arrests.
The Tribune reported that Foxx “was clear that her Nov. 15 memo wouldn’t apply during that time.”
However, that no longer seems to be the case. It appears the lenient November 15 policy is back in place.
On Sunday, Foxx told The Triibe that her office doesn’t prosecute protesters.
“Whether it’s the O’Hare 40, or the educators at Northwestern, or the students at the Art Institute. We are consistent. We don’t prosecute these cases,” she said. “So this is not a policy that has been stagnant since 2020. It’s certainly a policy that we will continue to take into the DNC.”
According to the site, Foxx only vaguely promised to prosecute “specific cases involving an act of vandalism or violence.” However, according to Wirepoints, sources within the prosecutor’s office indicated that certain offenses—such as resisting or obstructing arrest, assault, misdemeanor aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery of a police officer, reckless conduct, mob action, and obstructing identification—will still be prosecuted.
All of this appears to contradict the City of Chicago’s claims that violent protests won’t be tolerated and that offenders will be prosecuted. For instance, the Chicago Police Department (CPD) revised its arrest policy in June specifically in preparation for the convention, according to the Associated Press.
Chicago’s top cop, Superintendent Larry Snelling, even pointed out that the department is authorized to carry out “mass arrests” if the situation escalates.
“Mass arrest is a last resort,” Snelling explained in June:
“But we know the realities of these types of situations, especially when the number of people we’re expecting to converge upon Chicago is inevitable that there is a possibility for vandalism. There is a possibility for violence, and we are prepared to deal with that.”
Despite these bold statements, it seems the CPD and the city may face challenges when the State’s Attorney’s Office becomes involved in prosecuting cases against protesters.
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