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A California judge declined to sanction an attorney who called for George Floyd protesters to be shot.
On Tuesday (October 3), Judge Dennis Saab of California's state bar court said prosecutors failed to prove that attorney Marla Brown intended to incite violence through a series of tweets she wrote in May 2020, per Reuters.
"The evidence tends to show that Brown's speech was an ill-advised and careless expression of her thoughts and emotions in response to her perceived experience," Saab said.
The ruling comes after Brown posted on Twitter "shoot the protestors" during the 2020 demonstrations in the wake of Floyd's death. Brown also tweeted that former President Donald Trump should deem the Black Lives Matter Movement a domestic terrorist organization and that MSNBC host Joe Scarborough should have his house burnt down "with you in it."
Before deleting her Twitter account, Brown said her "remarks were made in a fit of anger at circumstances in general. It was a stupid thing to say. And wasn’t directed at anyone’s race. Just upset at all the destruction."
In March, the state bar charged the attorney with four counts of professional misconduct, including moral turpitude and committing a criminal act that reflects on her as a lawyer. Saab said Tuesday that Brown's posts were "unbecoming of an attorney," but the tweets were made "in her capacity as a private citizen" and were "completely unrelated to the practice of law."
Krista Baughman, who represented Brown, said Saab's decision was a victory for "all California attorneys who wish to exercise their free speech rights without fear of punishment."
The state could still seek a review of the decision, according to chief trial counsel George Cardona.
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