New York
Charges dropped against pro-Palestinian protester for wearing a kaffiyeh
NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors in New York dropped charges Friday against a kaffiyeh-wearing, pro-Palestinian protester who was among the first people arrested under a local face mask ban that’s stirred free speech concerns.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly’s office confirmed it moved to dismiss the charges against Xavier Roa during a court hearing on Long Island.
“The case was investigated extensively and upon conclusion NCDA determined that the allegations could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and moved to dismiss the charges,” spokesperson Nicole Turso said in a statement.
Roa’s lawyer Geoffrey Stewart hailed the decision as a “big victory” for his client and “for civil liberties,” but argued the law itself “should be struck from the books.”
“This case shows that the law can, and in all likelihood will be abused by law enforcement because the law is unconstitutionally vague,” he said in an email.
Stewart has maintained that Roa acted respectfully and complied with officers as he peacefully exercised his constitutionally protected free speech rights during a protest outside an orthodox synagogue in September.
The North Bellmore resident was detained under Nassau County’s Mask Transparency Act, which bans people from wearing masks to conceal their identity in public.
The act includes exemptions for people who wear masks “for health, safety, religious or cultural purposes.”
The county’s Republican-controlled Legislature approved the law in August in response to “antisemitic incidents, often perpetrated by those in masks” since the start of the Israel-Hamas war last year.
Roa, who faced up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted of the misdemeanor charge, was the first protester arrested under the ban.
The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and other groups denounced it at the time as proof that the local law was being used as a “silencing tactic” against Palestinian supporters.
Nassau County police said Roa had been attempting to conceal his identity as he led others in pro-Palestinian chants. They also said he told officers he was wearing the scarf in solidarity with Palestinians and not for exempted medical or religious purposes.
In videos showing some of the arrest, Roa wears the kaffiyeh around his neck as he’s led away in handcuffs.
Washington
Freelance photographer arrested on charges over Capitol riot
WASHINGTON (AP) — A freelance photographer and local government official from Illinois has been arrested on charges alleging he joined a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol and pushed against a police officer’s riot shield, according to court records unsealed on Friday.
Patrick Gorski, 27, was arrested in Chicago on Thursday on charges including obstructing law enforcement officers during a civil disorder, a felony. A federal judge ordered him released on bond after his initial court appearance.
Gorski didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. An attorney who represented him after his arrest declined to comment on Gorski’s behalf.
Authorities allege that during the attack, Gorski climbed scaffolding, breaching police lines, and took photos and videos inside the building. He yelled at officers, pushed against an officer’s riot shield and was eventually forced out after being sprayed with a chemical irritant, authorities said.
When the FBI interviewed him, Gorski did not claim that he was working as a photojournalist during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and said he didn’t bring his professional camera to the Capitol. He told federal agents that he had worked as a photographer for the Chicago Fire Department and for Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign.
He has not professionally published any photographs of the Capitol riot, according to the FBI.
An FBI agent’s affidavit says some of Gorski’s sports photographs are available through Getty Images and have been “picked up” by The Associated Press and USA Today. Authorities said Gorski has continued to take photos at some local sporting events in Chicago but hasn’t published any political photographs in the last five years.
Gorski is not an Associated Press journalist and has never been employed by the news organization, said Lauren Easton, AP’s vice president of corporate communications.
“We have distributed some photos he took for AP’s photo partners and member news organizations,” Easton said in a statement.
Gorski’s resume says he works as a building commissioner for the Village of Norridge, Illinois, and graduated earlier this year from Southeastern Illinois University with a master’s degree in public administration.
He attended then-President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6 before he marched to the Capitol in a group of people that included conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and Owen Shroyer, who has hosted a show on Jones’ Infowars website.
On the west side of the Capitol, Gorski climbed up a wall onto stairs, helped another rioter onto the wall and removed a tarp covering scaffolding, according to the FBI. He climbed up and down the scaffolding before he helped pass a bike rack to other rioters, the agent’s affidavit says.
Gorski pointed and yelled at police officers outside the building. He also clapped and chanted, “Let us in!” After rioters broke through a police lines and sent officers retreating, Gorski hung a flag over the edge of a balcony.
Gorski used his phone to take photos or videos inside a tunnel entrance that police were guarding, according to the affidavit.
He screamed at the officers, “This is our house!” as he pushed against an officer’s riot shield, the FBI said.
Gorski left the tunnel after several minutes and entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing door, taking more photos or videos inside the building, the affidavit says. An officer had to forcibly move Gorski from a doorway in another part of the Capitol, according to the agent. Gorski retreated after police sprayed him with a chemical irritant.
Approximately one year after the attack, the FBI received a tip that Gorski had posted photos of the riot in a group chat with friends.
More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the Capitol riot.
Charges dropped against pro-Palestinian protester for wearing a kaffiyeh
NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors in New York dropped charges Friday against a kaffiyeh-wearing, pro-Palestinian protester who was among the first people arrested under a local face mask ban that’s stirred free speech concerns.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly’s office confirmed it moved to dismiss the charges against Xavier Roa during a court hearing on Long Island.
“The case was investigated extensively and upon conclusion NCDA determined that the allegations could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and moved to dismiss the charges,” spokesperson Nicole Turso said in a statement.
Roa’s lawyer Geoffrey Stewart hailed the decision as a “big victory” for his client and “for civil liberties,” but argued the law itself “should be struck from the books.”
“This case shows that the law can, and in all likelihood will be abused by law enforcement because the law is unconstitutionally vague,” he said in an email.
Stewart has maintained that Roa acted respectfully and complied with officers as he peacefully exercised his constitutionally protected free speech rights during a protest outside an orthodox synagogue in September.
The North Bellmore resident was detained under Nassau County’s Mask Transparency Act, which bans people from wearing masks to conceal their identity in public.
The act includes exemptions for people who wear masks “for health, safety, religious or cultural purposes.”
The county’s Republican-controlled Legislature approved the law in August in response to “antisemitic incidents, often perpetrated by those in masks” since the start of the Israel-Hamas war last year.
Roa, who faced up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted of the misdemeanor charge, was the first protester arrested under the ban.
The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and other groups denounced it at the time as proof that the local law was being used as a “silencing tactic” against Palestinian supporters.
Nassau County police said Roa had been attempting to conceal his identity as he led others in pro-Palestinian chants. They also said he told officers he was wearing the scarf in solidarity with Palestinians and not for exempted medical or religious purposes.
In videos showing some of the arrest, Roa wears the kaffiyeh around his neck as he’s led away in handcuffs.
Washington
Freelance photographer arrested on charges over Capitol riot
WASHINGTON (AP) — A freelance photographer and local government official from Illinois has been arrested on charges alleging he joined a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol and pushed against a police officer’s riot shield, according to court records unsealed on Friday.
Patrick Gorski, 27, was arrested in Chicago on Thursday on charges including obstructing law enforcement officers during a civil disorder, a felony. A federal judge ordered him released on bond after his initial court appearance.
Gorski didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. An attorney who represented him after his arrest declined to comment on Gorski’s behalf.
Authorities allege that during the attack, Gorski climbed scaffolding, breaching police lines, and took photos and videos inside the building. He yelled at officers, pushed against an officer’s riot shield and was eventually forced out after being sprayed with a chemical irritant, authorities said.
When the FBI interviewed him, Gorski did not claim that he was working as a photojournalist during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and said he didn’t bring his professional camera to the Capitol. He told federal agents that he had worked as a photographer for the Chicago Fire Department and for Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign.
He has not professionally published any photographs of the Capitol riot, according to the FBI.
An FBI agent’s affidavit says some of Gorski’s sports photographs are available through Getty Images and have been “picked up” by The Associated Press and USA Today. Authorities said Gorski has continued to take photos at some local sporting events in Chicago but hasn’t published any political photographs in the last five years.
Gorski is not an Associated Press journalist and has never been employed by the news organization, said Lauren Easton, AP’s vice president of corporate communications.
“We have distributed some photos he took for AP’s photo partners and member news organizations,” Easton said in a statement.
Gorski’s resume says he works as a building commissioner for the Village of Norridge, Illinois, and graduated earlier this year from Southeastern Illinois University with a master’s degree in public administration.
He attended then-President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6 before he marched to the Capitol in a group of people that included conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and Owen Shroyer, who has hosted a show on Jones’ Infowars website.
On the west side of the Capitol, Gorski climbed up a wall onto stairs, helped another rioter onto the wall and removed a tarp covering scaffolding, according to the FBI. He climbed up and down the scaffolding before he helped pass a bike rack to other rioters, the agent’s affidavit says.
Gorski pointed and yelled at police officers outside the building. He also clapped and chanted, “Let us in!” After rioters broke through a police lines and sent officers retreating, Gorski hung a flag over the edge of a balcony.
Gorski used his phone to take photos or videos inside a tunnel entrance that police were guarding, according to the affidavit.
He screamed at the officers, “This is our house!” as he pushed against an officer’s riot shield, the FBI said.
Gorski left the tunnel after several minutes and entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing door, taking more photos or videos inside the building, the affidavit says. An officer had to forcibly move Gorski from a doorway in another part of the Capitol, according to the agent. Gorski retreated after police sprayed him with a chemical irritant.
Approximately one year after the attack, the FBI received a tip that Gorski had posted photos of the riot in a group chat with friends.
More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the Capitol riot.
