Beltway Area Indymedia

At a hearing in Courtroom 310 on Dec 19, Tyler Froatz's trial date was rescheduled for Feb 27, with motions to be heard on that same day. This was because of a nearly-booked schedule for the judge.

Froatz's attorney wanted a motions hearing with an "expert witness" in an attempt to claim his arsenal is an antique collection. Since when do things like a molotov cocktail and an AK-47 constitute "antiques?" Unfortunately, those maps in his car weren't dusty old treasure maps either-they were diagrams of Malcolm X Park showing lines of fire into the crowd at the May 1 immigration rally!

With a booked schedule, the judge decided this bullshit can be heard at trial(if at all), where a motions hearing will immediately precede the trial.

Tyler looked nervous enough just being in the courtroom, but quickly looked even more nervous as members of Resistance and Solidarity filed into the courtroom.

There were at least 8 US marshalls in the courtroom as well, as they did not want to risk any kind of "incident" in this kind of high profile case.

As Tyler Froatz left the courthouse, several people detached themselves from the cluster of immigrant rights supporters to heckle him, reminding him about how much fun he had in DC Jail and the wonderful times yet to come in Federal prison.

The two suprising things today are this:

1. That Tyler Froatz would even show up given the
near-certainty of conviction and risk of
being ordered into custody now that an
indictment has been issued.

2. That prosecutors didn't demand that Froatz
be taken into custody as a flight
risk and danger to the community.
His lawyers would have argued in return
that his presence at the hearing indicates
low flight risk-but that doesn't change
risk to the community.

Tyler Froatz was held without bond for 6 weeks
after he was caught with guns and maps
showing firing lines into the crowd at the
May 1, 2007 immigrant rally. The only
reason he was released was the failure of
the prosecution to obtain the indictment
in a timely manner.

Still, it looks like Tyler's going back behind bars in a couple months. He' s gonna LOVE being a white racist in prison. Help make sure he doesn't get away-BE THERE on Feb 27 at DC Superior Court at 500 Indiana Ave!