Catch and Release: Rioters Jailed in St. Louis and New York Set Free by Local Prosecutors

Even as US police crack down on riots and looting, authorities from St. Louis to New York City are simply releasing everyone arrested in connection with the unrest, due to the reform championed by social justice activists.

Retired police captain David Dorn was gunned down by looters and four active duty police were shot in St. Louis, Missouri, as protests over last week’s death of George Floyd in Minnesota turned into violent riots on Monday. The 25 people arrested in connection with the unrest were released by circuit attorney Kim Gardner, however.

“It’s unfathomable that every single person arrested that night has been released,” state Attorney General Eric Schmitt told reporters on Wednesday. “It’s stunning.” Schmitt vowed to do everything he can to prosecute the rioters.

Gardner is the first African-American circuit attorney in St. Louis, elected in 2016 with substantial assistance of Democrat mega-donor George Soros, following the unrest in nearby Ferguson. In 2018, she led a probe against the Republican Governor Eric Greitens, eventually dropping the charges after he resigned from office.