PREVIEW

The DOJ Charged Hundreds Over Officer Assaults, But Nearly A Third Of Cases Were Dropped. The Trump administration’s Justice Department charged at least 851 people with assaulting or obstructing federal officers between January 2025 and March 2026. A Reuters review of federal court records found that 31% of the cases that had been completed were dismissed, compared with an average dismissal rate of about 8%. The dismissal rate was even higher among cases arising from immigration protests, with prosecutors abandoning roughly 45% of the 86 completed cases examined. The administration pursued some confrontations unlikely to result in federal arrests or serious charges, including minor incidents involving a sandwich and a water bottle. The aggressive approach nevertheless had significant consequences for some defendants, who reported losing jobs, facing legal bills and enduring online harassment even after their cases were dropped. The unusually high number of dismissals has raised questions about whether the administration's push to prosecute assaults on federal officers has been disproportionate. The Justice Department said prosecutors should hold people accountable for assaults on law enforcement but should also drop or reduce charges when mitigating circumstances emerge.
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