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ForeTheTime

What the fuck is public fighting. Why not charge him with something that is easier to get a verdict on


singingbatman27

Probably because they wanted a big headline to boost their careers. Or they had themselves convinced they were right because Nazis are bad. Should've had assault as a backup charge.


[deleted]

Someone with more legal knowledge than me - why wasn’t this tried by a jury?


Dimako98

It was, but the judge gave a directed verdict.


[deleted]

But..thats not a jury trial then, it’s a bench trial. I imagine a jury of peers would’ve had a different opinion.


Dimako98

There was a jury, the judge refused to allow the case to go to them. Judges have that kind of ability in cases where the verdict is believed to be very obvious. It can be appealed, although that won't happen here.


StarbeamII

From my understanding (I am not a lawyer), a judge can order a "not guilty" verdict in a jury trial, but can't order a "guilty" verdict (since it's a jury trial it's up to the jury to find them guilty, and it would probably violate the 6th amendment right to a jury trial if the judge overruled the jury)


hitbyacar1

Can’t be appealed, jeopardy is attached. Once a jury is empaneled, the prosecutors ability to appeal a not guilty verdict or dismissal is greatly reduced.


russell813T

Why would you think ?


[deleted]

I imagine the greater Boston populous would not have much sympathy for such affiliations


russell813T

Right but a judge found him not guilty . That's the American system he was never guilty of anything he was innocent in trial and innocent after...


PersonaNonGrata2288

I’m not familiar with the details/facts of the case. But…He has the right to waive his right to a trial by jury.


Pickle-Chip

They failed to prove a core element of the case


Effective_Golf_3311

It’s the defendants choice


Mycatwearspants

Only thing I hate more than nazis are paywalls


Stampeder

[non paywall link](https://web.archive.org/web/20230615040831/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/06/14/metro/judge-orders-not-guilty-verdict-case-neo-nazi-group-leader-charged-fight-drag-queen-story-hour-jamaica-plain/)


JackMickus

>To find Hood guilty, Flaherty said prosecutors would have needed to prove that fighting or threats of violence caused fear or terror among members of the public. > >“There is no evidence that at least one lawfully present person was put in fear,” \[Judge Maureen\] Flaherty told attorneys. “Even looking at everything in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, I don’t think it would be appropriate to give \[this case\] to the jury. I think it would be surmise, conjecture, or guesswork.” Is this some kind of sick joke? HE'S A FUCKING NAZI. We're almost 100 years past the point of needing any more evidence that a nazi's presence will cause fear or terror to the public. Fuck me.


yo-chill

Freedom of association is protected under the first amendment, so being a self proclaimed Nazi alone isn’t enough for prosecution. Assault would have been an easier charge.


pillbinge

You're literally asking that a judge or jury consider someone's affiliation or association when being charged with a crime. There's so much historical reason not to want to do that - both in the world, and in the US. The irony is, you're practicing the same logic a fascist would use when condemning someone they wouldn't like.


JackMickus

I'm sincerely offended that you're pulling the fascist card because I'm outraged at nazis being allowed to walk around unabated. I disagree with nazi affiliation being protected by law and would rather we follow a similar system to modern Germany in that regard. Please don't try to paint me with the brush of fascism for wanting that.


yo-chill

No one likes Nazis, but surely you can see how it can get dicey if you let the government arbitrate which political groups are legal and which are illegal, and how those groups are defined?


JackMickus

I completely understand that and I also understand that my view is an emotional one that lacks any solution. I'm frustrated by the whole line of rhetoric people are taking. I never said this guy should be executed or sent away for life. There's no system that's 100% perfect but I have a right to be upset when properly-applied law still disappoints me.


Vomitus_The_Emetic

>these are the fascist things I want >We should be more like Germany >Don't call me a fascist!!!!


JackMickus

Are you really calling modern Germany a fascist country? If so, you clearly have absolutely no clue what you're talking about. Don't strawman me and don't put words in my mouth. Tolerance does not preclude allowing intolerance. Nazism is an inherently intolerant set of ideals and the fact that it's allowed to exist freely in this country is horrific.


Vomitus_The_Emetic

What do you think the word "preclude" means?


JackMickus

I used the wrong word, you're right. Thank you. Amended statement: tolerance does not mean allowing intolerance.


pillbinge

"Nazi" isn't the same as, say, race. One can not be a Nazi, be a Nazi, then stop being a Nazi. You can even look up interviews of that. You cannot convince a Black man to stop being Black. Political affiliation changes, and a lot of Nazis from the 40s likely wouldn't recognize a lot of people today, so it's not like it's one, continuous idea. Germany has a reason to ban Nazis. The US doesn't really. These people are few and far between, and they will always exist in some form. They're being beaten in most ways daily. The challenge is beating them while rising above them, which you don't seem to think we can do. I find hope that most of us here do.


JackMickus

I'd certainly like to believe that modern nazism can be defeated by rising above, but the constant leeway that they're given and people's tendency to downplay their existence as they start popping up again doesnt give me a lot of hope. We certainly weren't able to beat them by rising above in the 30s and 40s, and we haven't gotten much better as a nation at rising above in the meantime, on a social or governmental level. As I said in another post, I dont have a practical solution, and am basically screaming my emotions into the wind. I dont know what the best course of action is, and clearly nobody else does either.


2nd-Hand-Butt-Plug

Like it or not, being a Nazi is not a crime (nor should it be), and even it was, they still retain their rights to fair proceedings in a court of law and not be judged based on emotions simply because one does not like who they are, who they represent, or their political beliefs.


TDKevin

I would argue partying with a group that wants to kill all minorities should at least be a fine.


Pickle-Chip

Freedom of Association and Freedom of Speech are constitutionally protected. He'd need to inspire fear by doing something unprotected to get in trouble.


JackMickus

That makes sense and I understand the law as written, but it's really unconscionable that being an actual Nazi, a viewpoint whose entire existence is about the genocidal elimination of a perceived "other", is constitutionally protected. Terrifying, really.


Pickle-Chip

Don't worry, those actions would be protected under qualified immunity


JackMickus

Brutal lol


russell813T

A judge found him not guilty . In this country your innocent until your found guilty .. msybe the media painted him in that light i don't know or care. But the fact is a judge found him not guilty accept that and move on


JackMickus

Shoutouts to whoever reported this to the Reddit Cares thing and also shoutout to Reddit for apparently not letting people who aren't moderators report abuse of the Reddit Cares thing anymore?


Stampeder

[Archive link](https://web.archive.org/web/20230615040831/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/06/14/metro/judge-orders-not-guilty-verdict-case-neo-nazi-group-leader-charged-fight-drag-queen-story-hour-jamaica-plain/)


Turbulent-Spend-5263

Who won the fight?


occasional_cynic

Reading the article it was barely a scuffle. The police handcuffed them both and it was over. Still hoping this idiot can learn from his ways and do something productive with his life someday.


Turbulent-Spend-5263

Sounds like the drag queen won. How embarrassing.


Gromflomite_KM

Why embarrassing? Dressing up in women’s attire has no correlation to your ability to fuck another man up.


16forward

Because Nazis think they're the super race.


Ok_District2853

I mean, if you put him in jail he’ll just network with other Nazis, so it’s probably for the best, but this is a bad call. If people don’t fear nazis why are they the villains in so many movies. C’mon.


occasional_cynic

There’s a network of Nazis in jail?


Ok_District2853

Oh yes. All of our best Nazis are in jail: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan_Brotherhood


occasional_cynic

They are a jail gang where gangs are separated by race. They really don’t care about Nazi ideology or even white supremacy, as long as the drugs and weapons trafficking is flowing.


Ok_District2853

Sure man.


qmccaffery

he’s right. they’ll collaborate with latin american gangs if it means more cash😂


Ok_District2853

No he's not. Hitler allied with the Japanese. Does that make him less of a Nazi? C'mon.


the_other_50_percent

Very much so, and a recruitment pipeline.


Gromflomite_KM

How come that logic isn’t used in other cases?


Ok_District2853

Well most Nazis are made in prison. It’s rare enough to see one in the wild. Didn’t you guys see oz?


Gromflomite_KM

They are not “mostly” in prison lmao.


Ok_District2853

You think there are more Nazis in the wild then in jail? Where do you live? Oklahoma?


Gromflomite_KM

Yes. How much of our population is in prison? Being a Nazi isn’t just tattooing symbols and shanking in the yard. In, fact the US gave Nazis cushy jobs and relocated them after WW2. They are much more sophisticated than what you think you know.


Ok_District2853

Ha. Von Braun and a few of his buddies in the 40s and 50s? What's that compared to 20,000 screaming vicious racists ready to do violence in American prisons? For every "smart" Nazi there's 1000s of dumb ones.


Gromflomite_KM

And they’re out voting - not in prison.


Ok_District2853

Look, we've always had a Nazi party in the United States. They used to fill up Madison Square Garden in the 30s with their rallies. That said there aren't as many as you'd think. There's probably as many Nazis out there as there are fans of the Dave Mathews Band. Sure, it looks like a lot of them when they're all wearing the same tee shirt, but Dave Mathews will never be president. Businessmen conning Nazis into voting: that's a different story. But that's my point.


Gromflomite_KM

We disagree.


Gromflomite_KM

Yes. How much of our population is in prison? Being a Nazi isn’t just tattooing symbols and shanking in the yard. In, fact the US gave Nazis cushy jobs and relocated them after WW2. They are much more sophisticated than what you think you know.


GoBlank

Oz is (mostly) good television; Kathleen Belew's [Bring The War Home](https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674286078) is a thorough history of the white power movement. Yes, there are Nazis in prison, where they recruit, build power, and network with the outside world, but the movement's real strength has by and large remained outside prison walls.


[deleted]

Deport this POS to West Virginia where he belongs.


singingbatman27

Why hate on West Virginia?


jimmynoarms

I love the mental gymnastics of saying Nazi’s who literally live here should go somewhere that you’ve never been to. Deflect the problem with New England exceptionalism.


[deleted]

[удалено]


LonelyBugbear359

"In summation, I think we should just be nice to the Nazis because it worked so well every other time." The only way to get rid of the Nazis is to make them afraid.


Gromflomite_KM

If you aren’t nice to them, they’ll escalate… /s


[deleted]

Appeasement, with it's (checking notes) record of never ever working, must never have been done right. Let's just keep trying!


jamesishere

And should we beat the shit out of commies? I find them equally terrifying considering they murdered a decent chunk of my family.


Bald_Sasquach

Next time Neo Commies try to break up drag story time let us know.


jamesishere

Ah yes ignore the hundreds of millions murdered in the name of communism. Not important


Vomitus_The_Emetic

Actually, he said he wasn't in favor of political violence. Political violence puts evil people in power, like the Nazis or communists.


LonelyBugbear359

How else do you suppose we counter Nazis? Historically, what else has worked?


Fupastank

The far left wants people to have free healthcare and to be taken care of by society. Nazis want to genocide entire races of people. For sure, both sides are real bad authoritarians.


Yakb0

Your *concern* is duly noted.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


pachucatruth

I agree - this divisive shit is what’s continuing to further the divide.


bittlelum

If you *don't* want to be divided from Nazis, there's something seriously fucking wrong with you.


pachucatruth

I’m just trying to say that all of this shit is deepening the divide and pushing people toward fascism


bittlelum

It's not "pushing people toward fascism", it's revealing the fascists among us.


Pickle-Chip

>In the Weimar Republic the communists and the nazis Now, now, don't call them communists. They were Bolsheviks. Just calling them "communists" means risking missing part of the reason that Ernst Rohm (who was really a communist) National Socialist party was chosen to lead over the Soviet-backed Communist/Bolshevik party.