Beltway Area Indymedia

Today, Wednesday, June 20, the heavily armed, anti-immigrant member of the Herndon Minutemen, Tyler Froatz Jr. was ordered to be released into the custody of his parents, Tyler and Jeanne Froatz (of Wayne, NJ), by DC Superior Court Judge James Boasberg. Mr. Froatz had previously been ordered to be held in the DC Jail, pending today's hearing, after being arrested at an immigrant rights rally on May 1st for assault, and for carrying a dangerous weapon (weapons found on Mr. Froatz that day included a stun gun, a claw hammer, a molotov cocktail, and a (converted) fully automatic M1 carbine rifle).

At today's hearing, Matthew Mazur, on behalf of Mr. Froatz, attempted to downplay the amount of danger that Mr. Froatz posed to the community, as he filed a motion for the reduction of bond. In arguing for the motion, Mr. Mazur repeatedly attempted to portray Mr. Froatz's arsenal of weapons as an antique collection, saying that since the purchases of the weapons were not concealed, it then followed that Mr. Froatz was not going to use the weapons for illegal purposes.

However, in response, Patrick McMartin, on behalf of the government, brought to light new information about the weapons which Mr. Froatz possessed. He stated that at least 6 of the 13 weapons found in Mr. Froatz's 8th Street Petworth apartment had been determined to be fully operable firearms (under the statutory definition of a firearm), and that tests on 2 more of the weapons were soon likely to reveal that they were operable as well. It was also revealed that the weapon found in the rear of Mr. Froatz's vehicle on the day of his arrest was a converted, fully automatic M1 carbine rifle. How many people would Mr. Froatz have killed if he had not been stopped? Such firearms are normally semi-automatic, but Mr. Froatz had converted his weapon to be fully automatic, and had also installed a flash suppressant, which would suppress the flash of the weapon, and reduce the amount of “kick” that the gun would produce when being fired. Despite defense arguments to the contrary, the government argued that nothing had changed since the last hearing, on May 17 (with the exception of the information about the fully automatic weapon). Thus, they argued, Mr. Froatz should remain held.

Mr. McMartin also went on to introduce an anti-immigrant flyer that Mr. Froatz was seen posting in Malcolm X Park, on the day of the immigrant rights rally, May 1. Mr. Mazur stated that Mr. Froatz denies posting the flyers, and that there were also other counter-protestors present who might have posted them. A seemingly logical question in response is, who were these counter-protestors? Were they also armed? Were they also members of the Minuteman Project?

Despite all of this, Judge Boasberg ordered Mr. Froatz released into the custody of his parents, citing Mr. Froatz's lack of a criminal history (and lack of any prior mental health treatment), with the following conditions:
(1)Tyler Froatz is to live with his parents, Jeanne and Tyler Sr, in their Wayne, NJ home
(2)Tyler Froatz is to possess no weapons, regardless of any New Jersey lawss
(3)Tyler Froatz, and his parents, are to check in weekly, by phone with pre-trial services
(4)Tyler Froatz is to remain out of DC, except for court appearances, or when in the company of his lawyer or a court investigator
(5)Tyler Froatz is ordered to stay away from Sarah Sloan, whom he assaulted on May 1
(6)Tyler Froatz is prohibited from attending any rallies, for or against, immigration (upon hearing this condition, Mr. Froatz whispered to his lawyer that this shows the “political motivations” for his arrest)

Supporters of immigrant rights who were present were shocked by Judge Boasberg's decision, which he claimed that he was required by law to make (presenting the least restrictive alternative consistent with safety). A former fellow student of Mr. Froatz at the University of the District of Columbia in attendance appeared equally shocked, and was heard to say that Mr. Froatz was a known racist at the school.

The court is now waiting for a grand jury to return an indictment of Mr. Froatz. When, and if, it does, Mr. Froatz's next court date will be scheduled. In the interim, citizens of New Jersey should be aware that a man supportive of the killing of immigrants will soon be in their midst. If Mr. Froatz had not been Caucasian, would Judge Boasberg have made the same decision? What if he had been African-American, Arab, or Latino? Would he have been released?

(Audio interview courtesy of WSQT Guerrilla Radio 87.9 FM)