JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL: “The Justice Department has dropped its case against a woman who laughed out loud during the confirmation hearing for Attorney General Jeff Sessions, ending months of legal wrangling.
The woman, Desiree Fairooz, was protesting with Code Pink, a progressive group whose activists are regularly seen around Washington. She was arrested by a Capitol Police officer after audibly laughing during Sessions’ confirmation hearing in January.
But prosecutors filed a ‘nolle prosequi,’ or notice that it would no longer pursue charges, with the DC Superior Court on Monday.
She had been prosecuted by the DC US Attorney’s Office and had been convicted of a misdemeanor before a judge threw out the conviction in July and ordered a new trial. The government had decided to retry the case after Fairooz rejected a plea deal, and a trial date had been set for next week.”
-Tal Kopan, “Feds drop case against protester who laughed at Sessions,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, Nov. 7, 2017 03:35pm