A federal judge slammed the “lawlessness” of the arrest of a Black man inside of a Trader Joe’s in Washington, D.C. amid President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of the nation’s capital.
Trump signed an August 11 executive order that federalized the Metropolitan Police Department as he declared a “crime emergency” in the nation’s capital. In the latest show of force, the local police arrested a Black man in a Trader Joe’s after finding he was carrying guns in a search that a judge has branded “illegal.”
“It is without a doubt the most illegal search I’ve ever seen in my life,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said on Monday, according to NPR. “I’m absolutely flabbergasted at what has happened. A high school student would know this was an illegal search.”
While patrolling the area near Union Market, the Metropolitan Police Department on August 18 arrested Torez Riley, a Black male wearing a gray hoodie, dark jeans, a white skull cap, and a black crossbody satchel, outside of a Trader Joe’s, according to court records.
After observing Riley grab the upper strap of his satchel and pull it closer to him as he looked at the police vehicle, officers followed him into the Trader Joe’s. There, an officer asked Riley if he had a license to carry a concealed firearm in D.C.; the man said he wasn’t carrying anything.
Riley said he was adjusting the bag because his chest hurt. Officers noticed the bag appeared to be “heavy,” as if an object was weighing it down, a court filing states. Believing his “actions were consistent with that of an individual concealing an illegal firearm,” the officers then patted down the satchel, finding two firearms inside.
After looking into Riley, officers discovered he had previously been convicted of carrying a pistol without a license. He was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm.
On Monday, Faruqui said the police had no reason to stop Riley other than the color of his skin, HuffPost reported.
“The Sixth Amendment doesn’t get thrown out the window because the government has decided to make a show of arresting people,” the judge said, seemingly referring to Trump’s federal takeover of the nation’s capital.
The local police have been under federal control for three weeks since Trump began his crime crackdown in the nation’s capital, despite a 30-year low in violent crime in the city. He’s also deployed thousands of National Guard troops, who, as of this week, began carrying firearms. As of Tuesday, there have been more than 1,000 arrests in D.C. since the federal takeover began, with 115 illegal guns seized, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The judge noted that evidence in other searches have been suppressed since Trump’s federal takeover.
“Lawlessness cannot come from the government,” the judge slammed. “We’re pushing the boundaries here. We’re beyond the boundaries and something is going to have to break.”
The government asked the court to throw out the case after it “determined that dismissal of this matter is in the interests of justice,” a Monday filing states.
A Justice Department spokesperson told NPR that U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro moved to dismiss the charges after she was shown body camera footage of the arrest on Friday.
“This judge has a long history of bending over backwards to release dangerous felons in possession of firearms and on frequent occasions he has downplayed the seriousness of felons who possess illegal firearms and the danger they pose to our community,” Pirro told NPR in a statement. “The comments he made today are no different than those he makes in other cases involving dangerous criminals.”
The Independent has reached out to the Justice Department, Pirro’s office and Trader Joe’s for comment.
The judge warned of racial profiling, addressing Riley in court.
“The police are out there looking for everybody, and it seems they’re looking for people that look like you,” Faruqui said, according to HuffPost. “You can’t go into a grocery store without getting stopped and illegally searched. Do you understand?”
Riley’s lawyer said: “He was just walking into Trader Joe’s to get some food.”
