Legal experts say the charges against Afghanistan war veteran Bajun Mavalwalla II mark an escalation in the Trump administration’s crackdown on first amendment rights

The arrest of a US army veteran who protested against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has raised alarms among legal experts and fellow veterans familiar with his service in Afghanistan.

Bajun Mavalwalla II – a former army sergeant who survived a roadside bomb blast on a special operations mission in Afghanistan – was charged in July with “conspiracy to impede or injure officers” after joining a demonstration against federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in Spokane, Washington.

Legal experts say the case marks an escalation in the administration’s attacks on first amendment rights. Afghanistan war veterans who know him say the case against Mavalwalla appears unjust.

  • Boddhisatva@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    6 days ago

    Regular juries asses whether the charges are “proven beyond a reasonable doubt.” Grand juries have a different standard of, “more likely than not.” The prosecutors in this case convinced enough of the grand jury that he 'more likely than not commuted the crime. Not sure how you meant “minimally plausible” but those are the standards the courts use.

    • Zaktor@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      3·
      6 days ago

      The standard for a grand jury is probable cause, not more likely than not. Civil court is preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not), and criminal is beyond a reasonable doubt.