Left-wing DC group coaches residents on how to ‘influence outcomes’ on a jury

Published January 1, 2026 8:00am ET



A left-wing activist group opposing President Donald Trump’s law enforcement crackdown in Washington, D.C., has been coaching residents on how to use jury duty as a form of political activism, explicitly encouraging them to “influence outcomes” in criminal cases.

Free DC, a progressive organizing group that has emerged as one of the most visible opponents of the Trump administration’s federal crime and security surge in the capital, recently hosted a “juror teach-in” aimed at reframing jury duty as a political tool rather than a neutral civic obligation.

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