‘It’s unfathomable that every single person arrested that night has been released…’
(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) After prison officials in St. Louis, Missouri, released more than 30 rioters this weekend, state Attorney General Eric Schmitt said Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner—whose campaign was funded by leftist billionaire George Soros—is to blame.
In a stunning development, our office has learned that every single one of the St. Louis looters and rioters arrested were released back onto the streets by local prosecutor Kim Gardner. pic.twitter.com/tMZVAyHssw
— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) June 3, 2020
St. Louis police arrested 36 people between Sunday and Tuesday, including 25 of the rioters who were present when four officers were shot, according to St.Louis 5 KSDK.
These rioters could have been charged with misdemeanors and/or felonies for burglaries, property damage, assault, stealing and unlawful use of a weapon, the outlet reported. But Gardner chose not to charge them at all, which means law enforcement was forced to release the alleged offenders after 24 hours.
For at least eight of the alleged offenders, the police department is directly applying for charges since Gardner has not brought them on the department’s behalf.
“Two were released after being issued a summons, eight were released after prosecutors refused to immediately file charges and the remainder were released while police apply for charges,” police spokeswoman Michelle Woodling said in a statement.
Gardner, who recently kicked off her reelection campaign, has accepted more than $30,000 from Soros through his super PAC.
This connection is particularly troubling considering Soros allegedly had a hand in the Ferguson riots after the police shooting of Michael Brown, according to Joe Steigner, president of the St. Louis Police Officers Association.
Gardner claimed in a statement that she did not pursue charges against the rioters because to do so without sufficient evidence would be “unethical.” But Schmitt argued that there was more than enough evidence with “the kind of level of violence and rioting that went on.”
“Police officers being shot and shot at, a retired police captain being murdered, people throwing rocks and gasoline and frozen water bottles at police officers, firefighters being assaulted and blocked from doing their job, businesses that have served the community for years being burned to the ground, it’s unfathomable that every single person arrested that night has been released,” he said.