FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 21, 2021
Contact:
Chava Shapiro, Tucson Anti-Repression Crew
(415) 857-0507 or Chava_tarc@protonmail.com
Loren Reed Accepts Non-cooperation Plea Agreement and is Released Pending Sentencing
Phoenix, Arizona – On May 5, 2021, Loren Reed, a 27-year-old Diné (Navajo) activist, was released from federal custody following his plea hearing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. Reed was released after nearly a year of pretrial incarceration pending a final sentencing hearing scheduled for July 19, 2021.
Reed’s initial federal felony charge was pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 844(e), “Use of Instrument of Interstate Commerce (Telephone and Internet) to Threaten to Destroy a Building by Means of Fire,” after he engaged in a heated debate over Black Lives Matter protest tactics in a private Facebook chat group created to organize a local police brutality protest. Loren pleaded guilty to the underlying threat charge in exchange for a deferred sentence. In Loren’s case, a deferred sentence means that if he abides by all the requirements of his deal for two years, this felony charge will be dismissed and he will not suffer a felony conviction on his record. Loren also pleaded guilty to simple possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor, in exchange for the future dismissal of the felony.
Before his release, Reed had been held in federal pretrial detention without bail for eleven months. He has agreed to a non-cooperating plea to both the possession charge and the threats charge in exchange for the future dismissal of the felony charge. The US District Court Judge will have the final say over the plea deal and potential punishment at the July 19 sentencing proceeding which will formally resolve Loren’s federal case. Loren and his supporters are pleased that he now has the opportunity to return to his life without the threat of conviction for the serious federal felony charge and a potential lengthy prison sentence hanging over his head. Loren would like to express his sincere gratitude to those who have supported him during his incarceration.
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Tucson Anti-Repression Crew works to contribute to cultures of resilience against state repression in so-called Southern Arizona.