Two defendants guilty of conspiracy in groundbreaking Antifa trial in San Diego

A San Diego jury on Friday found two anti-fascists guilty of conspiracy to riot, in a case that became a bellwether for legal action against the political movement.

The two defendants had faced a raft of various charges related to rioting and assault during a protest in a beach neighborhood in the aftermath of the tumultuous 2020 election. In that protest, on Jan. 9, 2021, members of the Proud Boys and other supporters of then-President Donald Trump had rallied and clashed with anti-fascists.

But only the anti-fascists had faced charges. Prosecutors set out to convince a jury that the assailants were not simply individual participants, but that they had conspired under the banner of Antifa, essentially acting as a criminal gang.

Brian Lightfoot and Jeremy White were both found guilty of conspiracy to riot at the protest.

But the decision was split, as many other charges did not lead to conviction. The jury, which deliberated for more than a week, failed to reach a verdict on most of the most serious assault charges against Lightfoot, found him not guilty of one assault, and found White innocent of the one assault he was accused of committing.

For the individual defendants, the verdicts represented a lighter possible sentence for Lightfoot, but possible prison time for White, who said he was “heartbroken.”

And attorneys for both defendants said the verdicts represent a huge blow to the anti-fascist movement and to protesters in general, at a time when a new wave of protests has sprung up on college campuses across the country in opposition to the war in Gaza.

“I think the door is wide open to now hold lawful protesters in violation of conspiracy law,” said Curtis Briggs, who represented White.

Antifa on trial

On Jan. 9, 2021, a group of assorted Trump supporters, Proud Boys and members of the extreme right in San Diego, including people with a history of violence at local protests, marched around Pacific Beach shouting slogans and calling on anti-fascists to fight with them.

Some of the protesters were met by a cadre of several dozen anti-fascists, many dressed head-to-toe in black. Over the afternoon, the anti-fascists approached and violently confronted the protesters, spraying some with pepper spray and assaulting others. In other incidents, the protesters attacked leftists and onlookers.

A year later, the San Diego district attorney announced charges against 11 individuals — all of them antifascists.

The case drew extra attention for its overt focus on Antifa, which is generally understood as a leaderless ideology, rather than an organization. Far-right commentators and conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones and Tucker Carlson and conservative politicians, all the way up to Trump, have long claimed Antifa is not just a social movement but an organized, shadowy army.

All of the original defendants were charged with conspiracy to riot, and prosecutors portrayed them as an organized, malicious force that came to San Diego to pick a fight with supporters of former President Donald Trump, just three days after the Capitol insurrection.

The defense questioned the motivation of Stephan’s office and filed a motion seeking to have her dismissed from the case. The top prosecutor, a Republican who left the party to run in the nonpartisan DA election, has a history of supporting conspiracy theories about Antifa.

A former federal prosecutor told USA TODAY the decision to charge only one side of the fracas was “idiotic.”

“It’s an insult to the public's intelligence to suggest that that's a legitimate prosecution. It's not. It's selective prosecution,” said Patrick Cotter, who now works in private practice.

Last two Antifa defendants

Of the 11 original defendants, nine cut deals with prosecutors that saw some of them agree to multi-year prison sentences. Two, Los Angeles residents Lightfoot and White, decided to argue their cases before a jury. They were represented by civil rights attorneys, who told USA TODAY they took on the cases because of their potential impact on the broader anti-fascist movement.

Of the two defendants, Lightfoot was facing the most charges. He was accused of spraying pepper spray at Trump supporters and of committing assaults likely to commit great bodily injury. During closing arguments of the trial, prosecutors said he came to San Diego ready to commit violence.

“He wanted to fight,” said Deputy District Attorney Makenzie Harvey. “They were here looking to commit violence.”

Of the 16 counts he faced, Lightfoot was found guilty of six. The jury could not make a decision and “hung” on nine of the charges, and found him not guilty of one of the charges of assault.

John Hamasaki, Lightfoot’s attorney, noted that his client was never offered a plea deal by prosecutors prior to trial. He called Friday’s verdict “a repudiation of the District Attorney’s efforts.”

“It looked like the jury really did an independent and thorough job looking at the facts and coming to a decision,” Hamasaki said.

“I feel pretty good,” Lightfoot told USA TODAY. “I was at peace with it.”

White was less upbeat.

“I was heartbroken — it felt surreal that they could find us guilty of that,” he told USA TODAY. “This is a group of prosecutors and cops who have never once prosecuted the violent white supremacists that we were counter-protesting that day.”

Briggs said the verdict doesn’t make sense, since his client was convicted of conspiracy to riot, but acquitted of actually ever committing any crime on the day.

“It’s illogical,” Briggs said, adding, about White: “He’s devastated. He’s a political activist who cares about his community who is now facing jail time.”

The San Diego District Attorney’s Office sent USA TODAY a statement thanking the jury for their service:

“This was a complex case with 11 defendants indicted and now all convicted – nine by guilty pleas and two by jury verdict. The DA team worked tirelessly on this case in order to be sure our community remains safe, and that the rule of law is followed.”

White told USA TODAY he is committed to appealing his conviction. He said he is less worried about the impact of the case on his own life, and more concerned about the future of the anti-fascist movement and the broader protest movement.

“The prosecutors did everything they could to make us look like this criminal gang or terrorist cell,” he said. “It has bad implications for protestors out there trying to fight against fascism, against police brutality and state repression.”

Hamasaki agreed.

“As we’re looking at all these protests happening around the country, I think this bodes ill for a lot of people if prosecutors are looking to file felony conspiracy charges against people who are involved in active first amendment behavior,” Hamasaki said. “It can have a chilling effect.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Antifa trial in San Diego ends in two landmark guilty verdicts