Now this is a legitimate obstruction of justice charge.
A Massachusetts judge aided an illegal in escaping arrest by ICE officials by letting the illegal leave out of the back door of the courthouse:
NEW: The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston has indicted Massachusetts state judge Shelley Richmond and a court officer with obstruction of justice tied to an effort to impede an ICE officer from taking custody of a person who had been in the U.S. illegally, according to court docs
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) April 25, 2019
According to the indictment, a person by the name of “A.S.” had been charged by local police with narcotics possession and for being a fugitive from justice in Pennsylvania. The judge allegedly worked with a defense attorney to let the man leave through the back exit to the court
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) April 25, 2019
For those that asked, the indictment says that ICE did have a detainer and warrant of removal for the individual.
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) April 25, 2019
U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling says the person, “A.S.” had been administratively arrested and deported twice before.
He says, “this case is not about immigration but is about the rule of law.”
Adding, “if the law is not applied equally it cannot be applied to everyone.”
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) April 25, 2019
Here’s more from NBC News:
A Massachusetts judge conspired with a court officer to help a twice-deported undocumented immigrant slip out a back exit of a courthouse and elude arrest by immigration authorities, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.
Judge Shelley Joseph and court officer Wesley MacGregor were hit with federal obstruction of justice charges for allegedly aiding the defendant, who was arrested in March 2018 on charges of drug possession and being a fugitive from justice, according to an indictment by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston.
The man, identified as A.S., was allowed to dash out of a rear sally port entrance at the state courthouse in Newton, Massachusetts, on April 2, 2018, after a plainclothes immigration enforcement agent identified himself to the judge and other courtroom personnel, federal prosecutors said.
The plan was hatched after the suspect’s lawyer told the judge he thought the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in the courthouse was targeting the wrong person.
“ICE is going to pick him up if he walks out the front door. But I think the best thing for us to do is clear the fugitive issue, release him on a personal, and hope that he can avoid ICE,” the attorney said during a sidebar that was recorded, according to the indictment. “…That’s the best I can do.”
The judge responded: “ICE is gonna get him? What if we detain him?” according to the indictment.
Joseph then requested that the courtroom recorder be turned off as the conversation continued, prosecutors say. The courtroom recorder was turned back on after 52 seconds, the indictment says.
At that point, the prosecutor agreed with the defense lawyer that it seemed to be a case of mistaken identity.
“With the information that I have, I don’t think that there is enough tying him to the Pennsylvania warrant,” the prosecutor said, according to the indictment.
It was not clear what happened to the undocumented immigrant after the courthouse escape.
According to Heavy.com, the illegal was arrested later this month.
They also point out that while the judge wasn’t required to help ICE officials detain the illegal immigrant, it is very illegal to interfere.
Below is the full indictment if you want to read it:
Joseph and Macgregor Indict… by on Scribd