Particle.news

Minneapolis’ Defend612 Promotes Virtual Jury-Nullification Trainings for Late February and Early March

Federal prosecutions of anti-ICE actions form the backdrop.

Overview

  • Defend612 is advertising two online sessions titled “The People’s Pardon or Jury Nullification,” scheduled for February 23 and March 5.
  • Event materials describe jury nullification as a way to protect people from unjust laws and political persecution, emphasizing learning its history and current use.
  • Images shared in coverage appear to draw on Freedom Trainers content that advises prospective jurors not to state plans to nullify during voir dire to avoid removal.
  • Twin Cities attorney Doug Wardlow cautioned that instructing people to mislead courts to get seated and then nullify could be illegal and raises ethical concerns.
  • The trainings are being promoted as the Department of Justice pursues cases tied to recent anti-ICE actions in the Twin Cities, and follow a Minnesota Democratic official’s since-deleted call to use nullification in the Claire Louise Feng case.