Prosecutors’ use of civil disorder charges against people arrested during protests has been criticized as a warping of federal authority in an attempt to satisfy President Trump’s goal of forcefully clamping down on the demonstrations. The Constitution, critics of the practice say, limits the federal government’s role in cases that are typically handled by state authorities. Crossing state lines often provides a justification for filing federal charges, but it was not an issue in the Rochester cases: Mr. Williams-Smothers lives in the city; Mr. Green lives in Dansville, N.Y., about an hour’s drive south. A spokeswoman for the Monroe County district attorney, Sandra Doorley, said that the federal authorities had consulted with her on the cases against the two men, and that she supported prosecuting them in federal court. As of Wednesday, around three dozen people had been arrested and charged with various crimes in connection with the Rochester protests, the spokeswoman, Calli Marianetti, said.

Source: New York Times September 10, 2020 00:31 UTC