Judge facing heat for releasing alleged DC teen shooter donated to Soros fund, posted about being 'woke'
A judge criticized for letting a teen who allegedly opened fire on a busy street out of jail before trial previously posted online about being "woke" and donated to a Soros group.
FIRST ON FOX: A Washington, D.C., judge who released on bail a teenager accused of firing over two dozen rounds at a car full of people along a busy street has a social media presence filled with progressive activism and a financial link to progressive mega donor George Soros.
Lloyd U. Nolan, Jr., a magistrate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, is in the spotlight this week after he ordered that 18-year-old Amonte Moody be released from custody before his trial despite accusations he sprayed a D.C. neighborhood with shots from an AR-15 while targeting a car carrying four people.
Nolan’s online presence includes examples of progressive activism, including a post boasting about being "woke," a post promoting Black Lives Matter and a post showing he donated to a fundraiser supporting a professor with ties to George Soros.
A Facebook post shows Nolan donated to Gideon’s Promise, a group founded in 2017 through a fellowship from George Soros’ Open Society Foundation on behalf of a professor named Jonathan Rapping.
Rapping, a professor at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, developed the venture, which is "devoted to training and supporting public defenders across the Southeastern United States."
"We envision a nation where every person has access to zealous, outstanding legal representation necessary to ensure ‘equal justice for all’ in the criminal justice arena," the Gideon’s Promise website states.
"Our programs and partnerships are uniquely tailored to support and strengthen the efficacy of public defenders as a critical part of systemic criminal justice reform. Public defenders are frontline advocates for the accused in this country and we are committed to nurturing and developing their skills at every career level to produce fairer outcomes for America’s most vulnerable citizens."
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Fox News Digital reached out to Nolan for comment on the social media posts but did not receive a response. Shortly after the request for comment was sent, Nolan's Facebook page was set to private.
Nolan concluded that Moody, who was charged with endangerment with a firearm, possession of a weapon and assault, was not a threat to the community and approved a request to release him on house arrest with a GPS monitor on May 3, WJLA-TV reported.
The decision to release Moody on house arrest prompted outrage from many on social media. And prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., requested an emergency hearing scheduled for May 22 to discuss the matter and potentially reverse it.
"The government presented evidence establishing probable cause that the defendant fired an AR-15 weapon approximately 26 times at a car driving away on a public street in the 1700 block of Independence Ave SE then dissembled the firearm and hid it away in a ceiling," the prosecutors wrote.
"Despite the egregiousness of this conduct, the strength of the case, including video evidence depicting it and two identifications of the defendant as the shooter, and the statutory presumption in favor of detention pending trial, the Magistrate Judge released the defendant."
A spokesperson for the D.C. court system told Fox News Digital all defendants "have a presumption of innocence."
"In this matter — after hearing arguments from both sides and the arguments for detention — the judge determined that 24-hour home confinement on electronic monitoring with the education and social services already in place for the defendant that release, on these strict conditions did ‘ensure the safety of the defendant and the public,'" the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson also told Fox News Digital the defense "relied heavily" on the fact that Moody had no prior encounters with law enforcement, and he was provided educational support and family and community resources.
"Judge Nolan conducted a very thorough hearing … and spoke directly with defendant about the consequences of violating any portion of the release conditions," the spokesperson said.