Prosecutors move to drop felony against lawyer accused of spitting on National Guard

Source: WUSA9

WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors moved to dismiss a felony assault charge this week and will instead seek to prosecute a Maryland attorney accused of spitting on National Guardsmen under a local misdemeanor statute.

Scott Pichon was charged last month with felony assault for allegedly spitting on members of the National Guard while riding a scooter at Union Station. On Monday, prosecutors asked a federal judge to dismiss that charge without prejudice. A day later, prosecutors filed a misdemeanor case against Pichon in D.C. Superior Court with the same allegations.

The filing did not explain why prosecutors sought to downgrade the charge from a felony and Benjamin Schifflebein, an assistant federal public defender representing Pichon, said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office had not answered his questions on the matter. Pirro's office also did not respond to questions about the case from WUSA9.

Schifflebein said he believes the incident was a "misunderstanding" and that surveillance video shows Pichon did not intentionally spit on the Guardsmen.

Pirro's office has downgraded and in some cases dismissed a number of assault on a federal officer charges since the beginning of President Donald Trump's surge in D.C. last month. In many of those cases, prosecutors were forced to seek lower misdemeanor counts after grand juries declined to indict on the felony charges they sought. In perhaps the most high-profile such case, Pirro's office charged a former Justice Department paralegal with a felony for throwing a sandwich at a Customs and Border Patrol officer — only to have to re-charge him with a misdemeanor after a grand jury declined to indict.

Read more: https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/home-rule/maryland-attorneys-federal-assault-charge-downgraded/65-3a2a640d-e38a-4acc-829d-e28508d43abf

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