oh and btw Chris Wray and Merrick Garland lie to the American public.

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https://thepostmillennial.com/andy-ngo-reports-antifa-trial-of-the-decade-exposes-a-violent-conspiracy-in-san-diego-riot

ANDY NGO REPORTS: Antifa trial of the decade exposes a violent conspiracy in San Diego riot

Prosecutors in San Diego County have laid bare the felony violent conspiracies to commit violence within a southern California cell of Antifa.

This is part of an exclusive series reporting on the So Cal Antifa cell.

As the criminal trial of two So Cal Antifa members goes into its third week, the public is learning about how one of the notorious Antifa groups organizes and carries out violence against targets.

Jeremy Jonathan White, 41, and Brian Cortez Lightfoot Jr., 27, both of Los Angeles, are accused of carrying out violent attacks on supporters of former President Donald Trump in a felony conspiracy—the first time Antifa suspects have been charged with such a serious felony accusation anywhere in the US. Nine of their co-defendant comrades have already been convicted in plea deals, including Luis Francisco Mora, 32, who took a last-minute plea deal at the start of the trial.

Background

On Jan. 9, 2021, roving mobs of black-clad So Cal Antifa members attacked supporters of Donald Trump and people walking on the boardwalk at Pacific Beach in San Diego County. A dog and his walker were among those maced. Eleven people, about half from Los Angeles County, were indicted in 2022 by a secret grand jury on a total of 29 felonies, including conspiracy to riot, assault and other violent crimes. Prosecutors alleged the defendants engaged in a coordinated conspiracy to riot.

White is accused of two felonies: felony conspiracy to riot, plus felony assault of a man on a bicycle who was documenting the Antifa rioters with his cell phone. Lightfoot is accused of sixteen felonies as the alleged “ringleader” of the attack: conspiracy to riot, plus nine unlawful uses of tear gas charges and six felony assaults on six different victims.

Most of the nine co-defendants who already took plea deals still await sentencing, in which they expect to be sentenced to prison. Two were already sentenced to five years in prison each; their sentences were enhanced by prior outstanding felony charges in unrelated crimes.

The weeks of testimony in the trial so far featured experts on Antifa, detectives, and the victims of the violence that day. Testimony is supported by video evidence captured during the riot and messages sent between the co-conspirators. Just before jury selection, co-defendant Luis Francisco Mora took a last-minute plea deal and admitted to the charge of conspiracy to riot, plus assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury.

White surprised the court and prosecutors by entering a plea of “not guilty by reason of insanity.” If he is found guilty at this trial, a follow-up trial will determine his sanity.

‘The Antifa Soldier’

During her opening statements to jurors on April 2, prosecutor Makenzie Harvey showed video footage of violence during the riot that included aerials from a local police helicopter. The jury also saw communications between defendants, including one from Lightfoot, before the riot, in which he stated: “Got a team coming from L.A.” and “I wanna fight!” Lightfoot used the alias “John Wick” on his Signal encrypted communications and had an Antifa logo featuring black and red flags as his avatar photo. One of his confirmed Instagram usernames was “@antifaboyacab5.”

“ACAB,” an acronym of “all cops are bastards,” is a slogan used by Antifa and far-left extremists to express hatred of law enforcement and the state. White used the alias “ACAB Man” on Signal and “@theantifasoldier” on Instagram.

Jurors saw an Instagram exchange White had with a comrade after the riot where he appeared to be preparing for another attack and referencing that he had exhausted his supply of chemical sprays from the Pacific Beach riot. “I just ran out of bear mace and pepper gel and was hoping to get those but I should be fine,” White wrote seven days after the riot. They also discussed how to exchange funds through Venmo.

Prosecutors also unmasked others who were at the riot and communicated with So Cal Antifa members using a secret members-only Signal group called “SD Fash Bash.” Among them are two far-left self-identified journalists. Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, an LA-based videographer, uses the name “A Cat with News” on social media. He originally uploaded video of the riot on his Twitter account but later deleted the evidence.

Another person at the riot in black bloc was Robert Sneed, a Portland, Oregon Antifa member who used the alias, “Chip Nooo.” Defendant White has testified this week that Sneed gave White and Lightfoot a ride to the riot from LA. Neither Beckner-Carmitchel nor Sneed were charged with crimes by prosecutors.

Lightfoot had numerous communications with individuals on social media about the riot. Prosecutors showed jurors an exchange he had with an individual boasting about robbing a bicycle off one of their victims.

White, who is 6 feet 3 inches tall, stands out in the riot video because of his height and his distinctive black armored riot costume with a gas mask and helmet. His defense attorney Curtis Briggs argued that his client was a “medic” at the event.

ince riots began against Trump and his supporters in 2017, Antifa and other far-left groups have popularized delegated roles to their members that include so-called “medics.” These protesters are instructed to provide first aid if their comrades are injured in the course of a riot. The self-identified medics often engage in rioting and violent behavior themselves.

“He [White] wanted to protect protestors,” Oakland-based attorney Briggs argued. He is providing counsel to White pro bono, as is San Francisco far-left activist John Hamasaki, counsel for Lightfoot.

When prosecutor Harvey first showed video evidence of defendant White macing a man who was walking his dog along the beach boardwalk, people in the courtroom gasped.

One of the victims in the case was a then-minor schoolboy who was beaten by the Antifa rioters. Attorney Briggs showed the jurors a still photo of the boy and other youths and claimed those teens “blocked” the much larger Antifa group from marching on the beach boardwalk. “Many people will say they are fascists, the people wearing MAGA hats….the persons that Antifa faces off with,” Briggs said.

Lightfoot’s attorney defended his client’s use of bear mace on the group of schoolboys: “When you see the bigger picture, it is not just three kids getting pepper sprayed. You will understand that Brian using pepper spray was reasonable under the circumstances.” Hamasaki continued: “Bear spray, you’re going to learn, it stings, it burns like hell, but it doesn’t do any permanent damage.” When discussing his client going to the direct action in riot gear, he said: “Protective gear is there to do one thing, it’s there to protect you. It’s not an offensive weapon.”

Hamasaki tried to deny the organization and well-practiced techniques of many Antifa actors, telling jurors: “Antifascism is an ideology.” Though Antifa does organize around an ideology of anarchist communism, the label of “fascist” is applied to all their opponents. Their targets of harassment and violence often include journalists, elected officials, Republicans, women critical of trans ideology and people who consider themselves “patriotic.”

“He [Lightfoot] wanted to be part of standing up to fascism,” Hamasaki told the jury.

At one point when jurors were excused for a break, Judge Daniel Goldstein admonished the defense attorneys for persisting in their efforts to politicize the trial by making claims about right-wing groups and particular individuals to justify the actions of their clients. The judge had repeatedly rejected efforts to bring those claims in as evidence, during pre-trial motions.

“I made the ruling seven times,” the exasperated judge said.

High School Students Beaten

The first witness called in the trial was an undercover San Diego Police detective who observed the riot. The judge ordered the media not to identify this witness. This detective said he saw 40 to 50 people dressed all in black.

“They are actually identifying themselves as Antifa for the first time here, with their flags,” he said. His testimony is backed by photography and video of the riot showing the Antifa side waving flags and symbols of their movement in addition to brandishing and later using weapons. One of Antifa’s signs read, “ASHLI BABBITT DESERVED IT.” Babbitt was the unarmed woman who was shot dead inside the US Capitol building during the Jan. 6 riot in 2021.

On the third day of testimony, a now-university student identified as H.T. took the stand. He was 17 and in high school when he was beaten in 2021. The prosecutor asked him, "What does ‘patriot’ mean to you?” For years, during pre-trial court hearings, the defense has tried to cast the assault victims as white supremacists who organized under the label of “patriot.”

H.T. replied: “I like the country I live in and I like to support it.” He said he met with high school friends to attend a “Patriot March” after seeing a post on Instagram. He wore a red “MAGA” hat, which immediately made him a target of Antifa. “There were at least thirty. They were yelling, ‘Go home racist,’” he said. He estimated that he and his friends stood on the boardwalk for about five minutes before being sprayed with a blinding chemical.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5415495&forum_id=2#47596129)