Earlier this year, on the anniversary of the January 6 protest at the U.S. Capitol, President Joe Biden went to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and bragged that his Justice Department had prosecuted more than 1,200 people who were present at the protest, including those who had committed no violent acts, and handed out more than 840 years in prison, collectively.
It was a very dangerous speech from a man who also once called more than 75 million Americans 'semi-fascists' because they voted for his opponent in the 2020 election. In a revolting similarity, that speech was delivered at another historic American location, Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
The man responsible for those January 6 prosecutions is Matthew Graves, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Graves also threatened that he could have prosecuted thousands more, even those who never entered the Capitol, for federal crimes.
With such a strict record, you would expect that Graves would be equally eager to prosecute violent crimes in D.C., especially those that result in someone's death.
Sadly you would be wrong.
Last week, a young woman, Kayla Brown, carjacked an SUV outside a DC hospital. Another woman was in the car, 55-year-old Leslie Marie Gaines. Brown drove the vehicle with Gaines inside for 19 minutes before crashing it into -- get this -- the federal building where Graves and the D.C. Attorney General work. She tried to flee but was caught by police, who also discovered that Gaines had died in the car during the 19-minute ride.
Brown was held without bond and charged with unarmed carjacking, kidnapping, and murder. Not three days later, Graves' office announced that it was dropping both the kidnapping and murder charges. Brown is still being held and faces the carjacking charge, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison. Here is the report from the local news station, NBC4 Washington:
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UPDATE: it took only 3 days for DC US Attorney Matthew Graves to drop murder and kidnapping charges in the carjacking case that killed an elderly woman at the doorstep of his office.
— Dapper Detective (@Dapper_Det) June 10, 2024
Seemingly, Graves only prosecutes grandmas.
Not their killers. https://t.co/cuuTv8jrV6 pic.twitter.com/U7mvPFJvXC
This is insane. And there is so much that is fishy about this story, it almost defies explanation. The medical examiner has not ruled on Gaines' cause of death, so why were murder charges dropped so quickly? For that matter, why were the kidnapping charges dropped at all? Gaines WAS kidnapped.
Moreover, police claim that the vehicle was unaccounted for during the 19 minutes when Brown held Gaines captive. That is simply impossible. The hospital where the carjacking took place is near Howard University in Northwest DC. The building where Brown crashed the SUV is less than two miles south in Judiciary Square, right near the Capitol and National Mall. There are cameras EVERYWHERE in this part of the city. It defies belief that police have no video or images of the car during this trip.
You can carjack a woman, kidnap, and kill her, and the charges will be dropped, but leave a skid mark on a street painted with a “pride mural,” and you get slapped with a felony.
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) June 10, 2024
This is your government. https://t.co/pWqvLxPdEI
In fairness, there is no proof that Brown did anything to Gaines during the trip to cause her death. But she DID kidnap her. Gaines DID die during that kidnapping. This warrants some charge and it makes no sense that Graves would drop it without a definitive ruling from the medical examiner.
No one is above the law.
— Sunny (@sunnyright) June 10, 2024
Well, Republican politicians challenging Democrats aren't above the law.
Violent criminals are most definitely above the law. https://t.co/xz2GfruX3F
Brown will likely be convicted of the carjacking. That carries a significant penalty (assuming the maximum sentence is imposed which, knowing DC, it probably won't be), but not nearly as significant as Brown deserves. Even without the murder charge, a federal kidnapping conviction comes with a penalty of 20-30 years. If the kidnapped individual dies during the kidnapping, as happened in this case, life in prison could be imposed.
This is insane!!! How is this able to happen??!! https://t.co/XfkJGsK3rG
— Vivacious Valkyrie🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@LilMinxx2u) June 10, 2024
Welcome to Washington, D.C., and unequal justice under the law.
This is unsustsinable.
— Christian 🇺🇲🇮🇱 (@ChristianCamara) June 10, 2024
So yes, I do prefer a "far right" replacement of whatever this is. https://t.co/xGhsMrH44S
— Angel Angle💫 💡 (@OOOimUrAngel) June 10, 2024
How many J6ers will they round up for him this week? #DemPoliciesDestroy and they no longer how it’s perceived https://t.co/wOgWxl8kOS
— Donna Davis (@DonnaDavisHNL) June 10, 2024
They certainly do not seem to care. And that is a pretty terrifying thought.
That line from CLOCKWORK ORANGE: "We'll soon be needing all our prison space for political offenders."
— Mr. Flake (@MrFlake2) June 10, 2024
This is some type of dystopian future out of the movies alright. And we're living right in the middle of it.
Whatever happened to the teen girls who tried to rob the Uber driver and he died when he crashed his car? Nothing I bet.
— Anna (@wolters_ann) June 10, 2024
Oh, those girls? They pled guilty to murder charges but were sentenced as juveniles and will be let out when they turn 21. Does that turn your stomach at all? It should.
Graves ought to be prosecuted. He's single handedly destroyed so many innocent lives
— bobacker (@bobacker84) June 10, 2024
Man, that's terrible. This leniency needs to stop. I can't imagine what this grandma's family is feeling right now. I would want vengeance.
— Dave (@ItsMe__Dave) June 10, 2024
Gaines' daughter was driving her mother to the hospital on the day of this incident. She had gotten out of the driver's seat of the SUV momentarily to get a wheelchair for her mother.
That's when Brown showed up and now the family of Leslie Marie Gaines has lost her forever.
That should haunt Graves, but we know he has no sense of shame. Hopefully, one day soon, he will face accountability for what he's done.
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