State attorney general Keith Ellison put out a press release last week,
Attorney General Ellison, Ramsey County Attorney Choi win agreements and injunctions to prevent gang violence at the State Fair.
In the backstory, a few alleged members of Somali street gangs allegedly put up posts on social media encouraging a rumble at the State Fair. Fighting at the State Fair (or just about anywhere else) would be a crime.
Rather than wait around for the crime to occur before acting, two of the state’s top ranking prosecutors responded with a civil lawsuit to prevent this occurance in an act of pre-crime. Rather than charging the individuals with a crime (incitement to violence), the state went the civil route, where the burden of proof is much lower, and the defendants have fewer rights in the courtroom.
Ellison writes,
In AG Ellison’s and RCA Choi’s August 5 civil lawsuits against two gangs, 7 of 10 people named in their lawsuits agree not to attend Fair or be present in Safety Zone around Fair
Ramsey County District Court finds three others are gang members and prohibits them from associating with gang members at Fair or attempting to provoke violence there
So Ellison “negotiated” with members of alleged violent street gangs and reached an agreement. Seven of them won’t attend the Fair. In exchange for what, exactly?
And the other three can still attend the Fair, but they cannot provoke violence (which is already a criminal act) or freely associate with their fellows (which violates their first amendment rights).
I understand that one of the three subject to the court order never bothered to respond to the lawsuit or show up for the hearing. That was, perhaps, the most reasonable response to this farce.
The other nine hired lawyers, at their own expense, and fought this precrime lawsuit in court.
Somehow, Messrs. Ellison and Choi managed to look both heavy-handed and weak-willed at the same time: using the full force of the state to prevent citizens from exercising their Constitutional rights and negotiating with them as peers.
The State Fair is a corporate entity owned by the state government. Why not just ban these gentlemen from the event and force them to sue?
Your tax dollars at work.