By Lauren Burke

“Fear is the tool that people use when they don’t really stand for anything. That is what they use,” said LaTosha Brown, the founder of Black Voters Matter, to a crowd of supporters outside a courthouse in Virginia in support of New York Attorney General Letitia James. After being indicted on “mortgage fraud” on Oct. 9, by a Trump Administration Department of Justice that has seen an endless carousel of sudden firings, replacements, and drama, James is defiant. Many legal observers predict that the charges against her will be dismissed.

The case against Letitia James represents the third example of Trump’s Department of Justice pursuing legal action against individuals he has defined as political enemies. The Trump DOJ noted in the indictment that James purchased a house in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2020 for $137,000. DOJ alleges that James misrepresented the property as a “second home” rather than an investment property to secure a lower mortgage interest rate. “Never ever cow down or bow down or break or bend,” Attorney General James said at a microphone to cheering supporters. “So there is no fear today. No fear. Because I believe that justice will rain down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream,” James said confidently, quoting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Attorney General James began her civil prosecution of Trump on October 2, 2023, with a trial alleging $250 million in civil fraud at the New York State Supreme Court in lower Manhattan. As Attorney General, James moved on Trump and his family, and the Trump Organization, accusing them of inflating the value of their business entities. Many Trump supporters viewed the legal action against Trump as a politically motivated attempt to bar him from running for President in 2024. President Trump’s Department of Justice is now taking legal action against James Comey and John Bolton.

After pleading not guilty, James emerged with her attorney, Abbe Lowell, from the federal courthouse in Norfolk, Virginia, to chants of “we stand with Tish, we stand with Tish!” A large crowd of over 200 stood outside the Hoffman United States federal courthouse on a wide street in front of a park, waiting for James to emerge. When she did, she made a brief statement.  Several supporters, including elected officials, spoke in support of James across the street from the courthouse. They included Glynda Carr, President & CEO, Higher Heights, Randi Weingarten, President & CEO, American Federation of Teachers, LaTosha Brown of Black Voters Matter, Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi, Norfolk City Council JP Paige, Virginia State Senator Aaron Rouse, and Virginia State Senator Angelia Williams Graves.

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