The following is a Catholic Action League of Massachusetts press release…
The Office of Suffolk County District Attorney Rachel Rollins has dropped the larceny charge against Zachary Pelletier, the masked, Antifa style militant who stole a four sided pro-life display from the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. The sign was recovered when Pelletier was arrested shortly after the incident, which occurred on June 18th.
By his brazen, daylight robbery, Pelletier sought to impede the exercise of the constitutional rights to freedom of assembly, freedom of religion and freedom of speech, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution and by the Declaration of Rights and Article LXXVII of the Massachusetts Constitution.
Section 37 of Chapter 265 of the General Laws of the Commonwealth prohibits the violation of constitutional rights, defined as any attempt to “intimidate or interfere with….the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured….by the constitution or laws of the commonwealth or by the constitution or laws of the United States.” Since 1990, violations of this chapter have been classified as hate crimes in Massachusetts.
The Suffolk District Attorney’s Office only charged Pelletier with Larceny under $1200. Now even that modest and minimal charge has been vacated.
While jail time was unlikely for such a misdemeanor, with the dismissal of the charge there was no requirement that the perpetrator express remorse, pay court costs or even stay away from his victims, nor was their any opportunity for a victim impact statement to be filed.
The decision not prosecute Pelletier is another disturbing manifestation of the ideologically driven, soft on crime approach of the radically left wing Rollins, who has violated the separation of powers, usurped the authority of the elected representatives of the people in the Legislature, and emboldened criminals, by arbitrarily deciding that laws against whole categories of crimes will no longer be enforced. Rollins’ policy specifically contravenes Article XX of the Constitution of the Commonwealth, which explicitly prohibits executive officers from suspending the execution of the laws.
The Catholic Action League called the decision to undercharge and then dismiss the case against Pelletier “a gross dereliction of duty, which raises questions about the commitment, integrity and impartiality of the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office.”
Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle made the following comment: “A civilized society is defined by its willingness to extend the protection of law to all of its people. The most fundamental purpose of government is to defend the weak from the strong, guard the innocent from the guilty, and shield the peaceful citizen from the violent aggressor.”
“The question remains whether the sidewalk counselors of Operation Rescue: Boston are the objects of official indifference due to ideological bias, or have simply become the latest victims of the reckless and revolutionary nihilism of Rachel Rollins, or both. Whatever the answer, given the repeated and unpunished attacks on Christians, conservatives and pro-life Catholics in Boston in 2019, it would seem that Massachusetts is becoming, politically, a Third World society.”
