DENVER, COLORADO - US veteran cryptologist Jordan McDuffie was detained after last year's Million Mask March and charged with two counts, Obstruction and Pedestrian-in-the-roadway, for stepping unto Lincoln Avenue west of the capitol steps when DPD says the Anon- masked protester they believe to have been Jordan ought not have. Before his May 24 jury trial could begin and after offering increasingly favorable plea deals, the city motioned to dismiss the charges. Jordan, age 26, is a recently discharged vet. He was arrested at the march held every year in Denver on Guy Fawkes Day, Nov5. On November 5, 2016, after meandering about Denver's pedestrian mall, keeping to the sidewalk as small demonstrations are wont to do, about ten masked protesters stood on northbound Lincoln for less than a minute until cops arrived and the protesters left the street. One masked standee, not Jordan, was chased by officers up and down Capitol Hill but no contact or arrest was made. That marked the end of the otherwise uneventful, nonviolent 2016 march. An hour later, after a calm rally of speeches and singing, when everyone had left, Jordan and two vet friends were walking to their car and were jumped by Metro SWAT. Jordan and friends were pushed to the ground by approx twelve officers. One friend had his phone knocked out of his hands as he tried to video Jordan's arrest. Jordan cried out that the officers were injuring his war wound for which he was discharged but the brutalization continued. Two blocks away another participant, African American Kris Randolph, 32, was similarly arrested, in front of his mom. Both he and Jordan were jailed overnight. Without being told he didn't have to, Kris gave a videotaped interview while in detention. The two were released the next day on $100 PR bonds. Kris and Jordan were given Colorado state case numbers (16M10457 & 16M10458) which were transferred sixty days later to municipal cases (17GS000146 & 17GS000195), no reason given, except their 90-day speedy trial clocks started only thereafter. Both were assigned to Division 3H with Judge Kerri Lombardi. Kris, a roofer, father of four, with a minor criminal record, qualified for a public defender. Kris kept a number of court dates but eventually FTA'd at an April disposition hearing. Hopefully Kris can get back on track in view of how Jordan was able to resolve his case. Jordan represented himself Pro Se through several hearings. Right from the start Jordan submitted multiple motions, one asserting his First Amendment right to assemble in the street etc, another demanding expanded discovery to include the DPD “After Action Report” (AAR) for Nov 5, 2016. An AAR erroneously disclosed in a previous case revealed that 27 undercover officers had been deployed at the 73-attendee 2015 Million Mask March. Judge Lombardi did not agree with Jordan’s assertion that he didn’t need a permit to be in the street, but granted his discovery request. She commanded the city lawyers to inquire about an AAR. At a March hearing, prosecutors produced an
Tag: Million Mask March
Mistakenly released DPD After Action Report reveals 27 officers on “shadow operations” at Denver 100 Mask March
DENVER, COLORADO- Hidden deep in the evidence against one of nine protesters arrested at last year's Guy Fawkes' Day march in Denver, was an "AFTER ACTION REPORT" never encountered before in discovery evidence available to previous Denver activism defendants. This report has provided the first public mention of "Shadow Teams" deployed on "Shadow Operations" against peaceful demonstrators. Most remarkable was that 27 officers were mobilized for shadow operations, among a total of 169, clocking a total of 1379 man hours, against a rally and march that numbered "around 100" at its peak, to quote the report. The report was presented to Denver municipal judge Beth Faragher on Monday before the trial of one of the Anonymous arrestees. The judge was asked why discovery evidence didn't include reports from the "Shadow Teams" detailing, for example, what their shadow operations were. Judge Faragher agreed to continue the trial until September to allow city attorneys to come up with some answers. One defendant's lawyer was also provided the Denver Police Department's Crowd Management Manual, an earlier edition of which was leaked last year by Denver's Unicorn Riot. The current manual does not differ on this subject and defines Shadow Team as: "A team of officers assigned to identify Persons of Interest as being involved in possible criminal activity based on Reasonable Suspicion.” There is no disagreement that shadow operations involve undercover officers following targeted activists. The question is what were they doing to maintain their cover? You can't surveil moving marches from under storefront awnings or hotel windows. To mingle with protesters who have to march with them. To ingratiate yourself with hosts you have to participate. To impress leaders you have to delegate. So what actions were the shadow offices mimicking? The title "Million Mask March" means to aggregate all the actions across the world demonstrating on Guy Fawkes' Day, every 5th of November. Individual marches are ridiculed for being mere fractions of a million, in Denver for example, marshalling only a hundred or so. Now, even more humiliating for Denver may be the revelation that up to a quarter of the marchers were undercover cops. Denver activists are accustomed to infiltrators, such have been photographed and outed regularly, but 27 officers operating in "shadow teams" is news. It may rewrite the last several years of arrest incidents. Arrests of Denver protesters have appeared sporatic and haphazard. Now it seems the targeting may have been restricted to actual protesters, because their shadow companions were not arrestible, by virtue of being cops. Although Shadow Teams are mentioned in the DPD manual, this After Action Report is the first to itemize their deployment. Here's the command structure which list the names of three officers whom lawyers may be able to depose: a Commander Fountain, Lieutenant Mitchell, and Lieutenant Jimenez. Defense lawyers are now considering deposing these officers to learn more about what their operations entail. Unfortunately the narrative provided in the 4-page after action report does not detail the "shadow" activity. It does however mention the number