D.C. Grand Juries Issue Stunning Rejections, Sparking DOJ Credibility Crisis

Washington, D.C. federal courts are grappling with an unprecedented series of grand jury rejections, as multiple D.C. citizen panels have recently denied Justice Department requests for indictments. This highly unusual trend, including a high-profile case involving a threat against the President, has sent shockwaves through the legal community and raised serious questions about the Justice Department’s standing with jurors.

The most striking instance involves Nathalie Rose Jones, who was accused of posting an Instagram threat against President Trump. Despite the severity of the alleged threat – which included specific violent language and Jones’s reported confirmation to the Secret Service of her intent – a D.C. grand jury on Tuesday rejected the Justice Department’s request for an indictment. Judge Moxila Upadhyaya is awaiting the Justice Department’s next steps, with a hearing scheduled for Monday.

This rejection is not isolated. Former federal prosecutor Brendan Ballou, who served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington, D.C. until January 2025, expressed his astonishment. “Not only have I never heard of this happening, I’ve never heard of a prosecutor who’s heard of this happening,” Ballou told CBS News. He added, “The office’s failure — again and again — to secure indictments suggests that the administration has absolutely destroyed its credibility with jurors.”

Another former federal prosecutor, Victor Salgado, highlighted the rarity of such rejections, noting the low evidentiary bar for indictment and the Justice Department’s policy of pursuing only strong cases. “It is exceptionally rare for federal grand juries to reject proposed charges,” Salgado stated, underscoring the gravity of the current situation.

Beyond the Jones case, grand juries have also declined to indict Sean Dunn, accused of throwing a sandwich at a federal agent, and Sydney Reid, who allegedly interfered with an immigration transfer. In a separate incident last week, a grand jury also rejected charges against Alvin Summers, accused of assaulting a U.S. Park Police officer, leading to a motion to dismiss his case.

The reasons behind these repeated rejections remain unclear, though Salgado posited that jurors might be disagreeing with the Justice Department’s theory of prosecution. Regardless of the specific motivations, the wave of non-indictments signals a significant challenge for the Justice Department in the nation’s capital, prompting a reevaluation of its prosecutorial strategies and its relationship with the community it serves.

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