Reports from Atlanta indicate that two of the suspects in the intentional burning of a Wendy’s restaurant during the 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) riots have reached plea agreements that will spare them any jail time.
The rioting that sparked the intentional arson was allegedly linked to the shooting of Rayshard Brooks by Atlanta police officers.
Chisom Kingston and Natalie White are two of the three defendants charged with burning down the Wendy’s. Both have now reached agreements that will place them on probation and carry no jail time. Local reports indicate that their punishment will consist of only a $500 fine and 150 hours of community service for each of them.
$500 fine for burning down a Wendy’s for BLM, and 17 years in prison for knocking over a fence on Jan 6.
2-tier justice system. pic.twitter.com/52YwyBvhqF
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 4, 2023
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) reacted to the news of the plea agreements by pointing out the wide disparity of punishments suffered by criminal defendants in America, allegedly based on their political favorability.
Greene wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “J6’ers are being locked up for years for walking in the Capitol and some never walked inside at all, but the guys who plead guilty to arson and burned down the Wendy’s in Atl in 2020 BLM riots only have to pay a $500 fine!!!”
When the trio was arrested, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said, “I think this indictment is particularly important. It sends a message that we are a community that supports protesting. We certainly know it’s one of your constitutional rights but what we do not tolerate is violent protest.”
What kind of world do we live in that this makes sense to someone?
The kind of world where 1984, Gulag Archipelago and Idiocracy are combined into one.
A ludicrous, dangerous, unjust and utterly pathetic state of affairs.— Roman Levin (@Rompapa78) December 4, 2023
Willis, who has made a political name for herself by prosecuting President Donald Trump on legally questionable and politically motivated charges, added, “It is unacceptable to burn down a building in our community even in the name of a protest.”
The criminal case for the third defendant in the case, John Wesley Wade, is still pending. He was awaiting trial on another matter at the time of the arson. He was wearing a court-ordered GPS ankle monitor at the time of the burning and was apprehended by police shortly thereafter.
All three defendants in the matter were indicted in January 2022. They were each charged with two felony counts of first-degree arson and a felony count of conspiracy to commit arson in the first degree.
