St. Louis Co Prosecutors Charge Journalists with 'Contempt of Cop'

Radley Balko in the Washington Post notes the corrupt and malicious ways of the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's office.

Imagine being black in St. Louis County if this is the way they treat journalists.

Writes Balko today:

Two journalists, one from the Huffington Post and one from the Washington Post, who were arrested during last year’s Ferguson, Mo., protests have been charged with what essentially amounts to 'contempt of cop.' That isn’t and shouldn’t be a crime, but it isn’t even clear they did that. Certainly doesn’t do much to dispel the accusation that St. Louis County prosecutors are petty, vindictive, and use their power as a weapon.

If ever there were an argument for hitting absolute immunity of prosecutors, this case would stand out. Ryan Reilly (Huffington Post) and Wesley Lowery (Washington Post) are charged with  "trespassing and interfering with a police officer’s performance, a chilling setback for press freedom coming nearly a year after their arrests in Ferguson, Missouri."

Prosecutors enjoy the power of the Sovereign: The government in all its power, glory and might.

"The prosecutor wields all of the power and might of the government as the Sovereign and enjoys all of the immunity that protects the Sovereign," notes one jurist commenting on the power of the prosecutor earlier this year.