For the second time in five years, federal charges against alleged members of a violent white supremacist group accused of inciting violence at California political rallies were dismissed by a federal judge who found they were selectively prosecuted.
Federal prosecutors said members of the Rise Above Movement conspired to riot by using the internet to coordinate traveling to political rallies and attacking demonstrators at gatherings in Huntington Beach, Berkeley and San Bernardino in 2018. The group also posted videos to celebrate violence and recruit members.
U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney first tossed the charges against Robert Rundo and Robert Boman in June 2019. The two were charged with conspiracy to violate the Anti-Riot Act and rioting.
On Wednesday, Carney again granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss, agreeing that Rundo and Boman were being selectively prosecuted while “far-left extremist groups” were not.
Is this that Judge Carney who called a black colleague “street smart” and then privately doubled down by trying to explain to her how it’s a compliment?
Don’t know the context, but “street smart” was a compliment in my day. Nothing to do with race, it was meant to convey wisdom and experience vs. raw intelligence.
I’ve never had either. YMMV.
Calling a highly educated person in a profession that requires that education ‘street smart’ denigrates that education and that person’s accomplishments.
I did say I wasn’t aware of the context. I even led with that statement.
Interesting how things are perceived so differently across cultures. In Asia that’s a compliment regardless of profession
It is interesting. I think the negative perception here comes from the fact that ‘street smarts’ are often contrasted with ‘book smarts’. It is frequently expressed along with other anti-intellectual sentiments and is too often racially-tinged.
Calling a minority that in a ‘book-smart’ profession in the US is a tone-deaf party foul at best. I think the term ‘back-handed compliment’ is apropos.