A U.S. federal prosecutor faces disciplinary charges for allegedly using deceptively edited videos as evidence against people arrested during protests at Republican President Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration. Jennifer Kerkhoff Muyskens edited videos recorded by a conservative activist group to remove footage that could have helped clear the protesters of criminal charges, according to a complaint by the D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel dated Monday.
At the time of the prosecutions, Muyskens led the violent and repeat offenders unit for the Washington U.S. Attorney’s Office’s superior court division. She now serves as a federal prosecutor in Utah, as shown by court records. Muyskens and spokespersons for the U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Utah did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington declined to comment.
Police in Washington arrested over 200 people in connection with the Jan. 20, 2017, protests, during which black-clad activists smashed store windows, blocked traffic, and fought with police. Reuters reported in December 2017 that twenty people entered guilty pleas. Six others were acquitted, and federal prosecutors dropped charges against at least 100 others, according to Monday’s complaint filed with the D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility.
Hamilton (Phil) Fox, head of the D.C. bar’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel, declined to comment. The office’s filing did not specify the penalty sought for Muyskens. The D.C. Court of Appeals has the final say on disciplinary matters concerning lawyers licensed to practice in Washington.
The edited videos omitted footage of protesters advising others to remain non-violent and use de-escalation tactics with police, enabling the government to argue at trial that the defendants had planned to riot, the disciplinary complaint stated. Muyskens made “false and misleading” representations to judges in D.C. Superior Court and defense attorneys about the video edits and the government’s acquisition of them, according to the complaint. A D.C. Superior Court judge in November 2018 found that Muyskens intentionally withheld evidence but did not act maliciously.
Project Veritas, a conservative activist group known for making undercover videos, recorded the footage. The group infiltrated one of the protest groups, secretly recorded their meetings, and then provided the videos to the D.C. Metropolitan Police, the complaint detailed.
