Federal Anti-Riot Act Prosecution After the 2020 Protests

A panel with Brian Dolinar on the federal prosecution of a 19-year-old Black Champaign-Urbana resident charged under the Anti-Riot Act of 1968 after calling for a gathering on Facebook following George Floyd's killing. A guest who spent 27 years in the criminal legal system opened with a poem. A former employer and mentor described the young man's life and circumstances; his federal defense attorney walked through the statute's history, sentencing arguments, the $1.6 million restitution judgment and the four-year sentence; a journalist and a local organizer discussed courtroom observation and jail expansion. Part of a fall 2021 Conversation Cafe special series co-hosted with a campus partner.