The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (MCBOS) unanimously approved a $6 million payout on Wednesday to Antifa and BLM protesters who were arrested and prosecuted for violence after the death of George Floyd during a riot in downtown Phoenix in 2020. After ABC-15 ran a series of videos critical of how law enforcement handled the protesters, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) dropped the charges, prompting a lawsuit by the protesters against the county and the City of Phoenix. The chief prosecutor on the case, April Sponsel, was fired and suspended from the practice of law for two years.
Retired FBI Special Agent James E. Egelston of Baseline Investigations prepared a 161-page report for Maricopa County in June 2023 regarding the actions of Sponsel and the Phoenix Police officers involved. He stated, “During the march, protesters walked in the streets, blocked traffic, knocked over and dragged construction barricades into traffic lanes, threw smoke bombs in the path of police, repeatedly ignored commands from the police, and resisted arrest. One of the protesters was armed with a loaded rifle and a loaded handgun. Another protester carried a brick in a backpack.”
The activists’ complaint, which was filed in July 2021, alleged, “Throughout the summer and fall of 2020, prosecutors at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office colluded with officers in the Phoenix Police Department to surveil, target, unlawfully arrest, and maliciously prosecute well-known racial justice activists in an effort to suppress the First Amendment rights of activists critical of law enforcement and to intimidate, disrupt, silence, and ultimately, incapacitate the local Movement for Black Lives.”
Much of MCAO’s decision to drop the charges appears to have come down to quibbling over whether the Antifa and BLM protesters technically constituted a “gang” or not. Antifa, which was referred to as ACAB by law enforcement (Antifa describes itself using that acronym, which means All Cops Are B****rds), was not found in the law enforcement database, and the Arizona Department of Public Safety later refused to classify the protesters as gang members. A gang does not need to be listed in the database in order to bring gang charges, but MCAO decided after the fact that due to this technicality, felony gang charges should not have been brought.
According to sources who were present at the initial meeting to discuss bringing charges against the protesters, Phoenix Police Lt. James Hester proposed the charges before Sponsel did, and everyone at the meeting was in agreement about bringing them. Sponsel created a lengthy Powerpoint presentation for her superiors about each defendant, detailing their involvement.
The protesters’ lawsuit against the City of Phoenix is still ongoing. As a result of the protest, the Department of Justice launched an investigation into the City of Phoenix. An attorney for the Arizona Conference of Police and Sheriffs is issuing videos refuting findings in the DOJ’s report.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office sent Egelston’s report to the Pinal County Attorney’s Office, recommending prosecution of Sponsel and the officers. However, that office declined to, stating that “none of the individuals listed above committed any acts that warrant criminal prosecution.”
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell testified against Sponsel at her bar disciplinary trial. Sponsel and the police officers, some who were demoted, have filed lawsuits.
Maricopa County has a history of awarding settlements to radical left-wing activists instead of allowing the lawsuits to go to trial for a jury to decide. The supervisors were accused of frequently doing this with lawsuits filed against the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office while Sheriff Joe Arpaio was in office in order to make him look bad. Sometimes they would make the settlements before those claiming harm had even filed any lawsuits.
Three of the five supervisors leave office in early January, reportedly due to falling out of favor with the public over opposing election integrity, but still decided to vote on the settlement as lame ducks instead of waiting for the new leadership to decide. Supervisor Jack Sellers was defeated in the primary by conservative Republican Chandler City Councilman Mark Stewart, who went on to win the general election. Supervisor Bill Gates, citing harassment over the issue, did not run for reelection. Supervisor Clint Hickman also declined to run for reelection. Hickman served as chair of the MCBOS during the 2020 election, and refused requests to stop vote tallying and delay certification of the results.
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter / X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “BLM Protest in Phoenix” by Chris Vena CC2.0.
