Full Breakdown
House GOP Probes DC Activist Jury-Nullification Trainings
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Investigation Initiated
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has issued letters to two left-leaning activist groups—Free DC and Harriet’s Wildest Dreams—requesting documents related to their jury-nullification workshops. The committee, chaired by Rep. The request covers internal communications, advertising, presentation materials, attendee lists, funding information and related records from the start of 2025 onward, with a deadline in late October. The subpoenas are not binding unless the committee escalates the effort.
Groups and Training Content
Free DC, founded last year, describes itself as a street-protest organization opposed to former President Donald Trump’s second term. Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, created in 2021 by former Black Lives Matter leaders, identifies as a prison-abolition group. Their workshops teach prospective jurors how to conceal personal political views during voir du jour and to vote “not guilty” based on activist agendas rather than the law. Trainers have urged participants to “answer ‘no’” to bias questions and to view jury service as a “superpower” for nullifying outcomes they deem unjust.
Official Reactions
Rep. Comer alleges that the groups’ guidance encourages jurors to present themselves as unbiased while deliberately withholding information that judges and attorneys rely on to assess impartiality. A constitutional-law expert quoted by the Washington Examiner notes that merely attending a nullification workshop does not disqualify a juror, but lying during selection could cross a legal line. The committee’s inquiry follows a September mistrial in former D.C. Councilmember Trayon White’s bribery case, which activists celebrated as a victory for jury power.
Verbatim Quotes
- “I want to take a little bit of credit, maybe about 40-50% of the credit for the sandwich guy,” — Qiana Johnson, co-founder of Harriet’s Wildest Dreams
- “It is clear that the position of Free DC and Harriet’s Wildest Dreams is that potential jurors should not make decisions impartially based on applying the law as instructed to the facts presented before them in the case, but based on their subjective, personal beliefs and activist agendas,” — Rep. James Comer, committee chairman
Next Steps
The committee will review the submitted materials and may issue subpoenas if it deems the information insufficient. Further congressional oversight could be pursued depending on the findings.