A Washington DC judge has sparked backlash after releasing a teenager accused of spraying a sleepy neighborhood with bullets from an AR-15.
Judge Lloyd U. Nolan Jr., a self-described ‘woke’ magistrate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, ruled that Amonte Moody, 18, be released on bail ahead of his trial.
The 18-year-old allegedly peppered a street with 26 rounds while targeting a car of four people at 2:30am on April 22, with Ring doorbell footage capturing a suspect shooting wildly from the hip with the assault rifle.
Nobody was injured or killed in the shooting spree, which unfolded just over a mile from the US Capitol. Despite the chaos he allegedly caused, Nolan granted Moody pre-trial release and home arrest.
After his decision raised eyebrows, Fox News reported that his online presence included a post where he said he was ‘still woke’, and another where he donated to a fundraiser supporting a George Soros-backed professor.
Judge Lloyd U. Nolan Jr., a self-described ‘woke’ magistrate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, sparked backlash after he released a suspected teen gunman on bail
On April 22, a gunman fired 26 rounds from an AR-15 through a sleepy DC neighborhood, shooting wildly from the hip while reportedly aiming at a car
Nobody was injured or killed in the shocking shooting spree, which locals said left the neighborhood terrified and furious at the suspect’s release
After he allegedly opened fire, prosecutors say that Moody rushed back inside a nearby residence and disassembled the AR-15 and hid the pieces in the attic.
The concealed gun was only found after several searches by cops, and Moody was later charges with endangerment of a firearm, possession of a weapon and assault.
Residents on the street where Moody allegedly opened fire reacted with fury following Nolan’s ruling on May 3, which will also see Moody fitted with an ankle monitor and ordered to avoid the people he allegedly aimed at.
Former chief counsel for the US Maritime Administration under President Barack Obama, attorney Denise Krepp, said that the ruling is ‘insanity.’
‘Where are the grownups?’ she questioned to Blaze News. ‘Where are the real grownups?’
‘That kid walked out of the house, took a gun with him, shot up the neighborhood, and then calmly went back into the house,’ she continued.
‘But for the grace of God, nobody died in my neighborhood that night.’
Krepp added that residents on the street have been left ‘angered’ and ‘p***** off’ by the news of Moody’s release, and said the general mood is one of ‘frustration.’
‘(We are) wondering what the judge was doing,’ she said.
The US Attorney’s Office in DC sought to quickly reverse the suspect’s release, filing a petition for an emergency hearing on Monday hoping to put him back in custody.
Resident Denise Krepp, the former chief counsel for the US Maritime Administration under President Barack Obama, said her neighbors have been left outraged at Judge Nolan’s decision
After the shooting spree, Moody is accused of rushing inside a nearby residence and disassembling the AR-15 before hiding the parts in a ceiling
In the filing, it was claimed that Moody ‘littered the street with shell casings’, and ‘anyone who happened to walk into that street at that moment could have been killed as an innocent bystander.’
‘Everyone in the car the defendant targeted was at risk. Every resident of that street was at risk,’ the USAO’s filing read.
Prosecutors argued that house arrest and GPS monitoring are insufficient for keeping the community safe.
The reason for this, the USAO filing noted, is that the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) ‘only works during normal business hours.’
Shockingly, this would mean that if a suspect violates their terms at certain times, ‘PSA only finds out about violations that occur at night or on weekends after the fact, once normal business hours resume.’
The filing also said that while Moody’s defense cited his family support system and lack of criminal history, ‘those things were true when the defendant’ allegedly opened fire.
Ahead of a hearing for Moody’s pre-trial detention status on Tuesday, scrutiny has fallen on Judge Nolan’s past online activity.
Judge Nolan’s past online activity has come under scrutiny as he faces backlash over the decision
Archived images from Judge Nolan’s social media showed he didn’t shy away from sharing his support for progressive causes, including describing himself as ‘woke’
According to images from Nolan’s Facebook from Fox News, he didn’t shy away from his support for progressive causes.
The outlet then added that Nolan appeared to switch his Facebook profile to private after they reached out to him for comment on the posts.
His posts included sharing an image in November 2020, following months of protests and riots triggered by the murder of George Floyd, promoting Black Lives Matter.
Another post showed that he donated to a fundraiser for a professor with ties to billionaire financier George Soros.
The judge donated to the group Gideon’s Promise, which was reportedly founded via a fellowship from Soros’ Open Society Foundation by professor Jonathan Rapping to support legal reforms across the nation.
According to the institute’s website, it works to tailor support for ‘the efficacy of public defenders as a critical part of systemic criminal justice reform.’
‘Public defenders are frontline advocates for the accused in this country and we are committed to nurturing and developing their skills at every career level to produce fairer outcomes for America’s most vulnerable citizens,’ it said.
Krepp said that the terrifying episode sparked chaos, and only by ‘the grace of God nobody died in my neighborhood that night’
Following the backlash, the DC Court System said that the defense ‘relied heavily’ on Moody’s previously clean rap sheet, and he was provided educational support and community resources.
‘Judge Nolan conducted a very thorough hearing … and spoke directly with defendant about the consequences of violating any portion of the release conditions,’ a spokesperson told Fox News.
The court system spokesperson added that all defendants have ‘a presumption of innocence’, and the judge determined that his conditions ‘did ensure the safety of the defendant and the public.’