Activists celebrate Allister Adel’s last day at MCAO, call for others to be held accountable – The Arizona Republic

Over a dozen members of the organization Mass Liberation Arizona gathered outside the Maricopa County Attorney's Office on Friday afternoon to celebrate Allister Adel's final day as the Maricopa County attorney.

The group, which spent years castigating the office for controversial practices, such as charging a group of protesters as gang members, cheered on as Adels resignation officially took effect 5 p.m. Friday.

A small marching band played jaunty tunes for a few minutes before Bruce Franks Jr., a spokesperson for Mass Liberation Arizona, approached a podium.

Weve come here today to name the victory that is our removal of Allister Adel from office and celebrate this historic win for the people and by the people, Franks said. Make no mistake, Adel did not resign because she felt accountable for the harm she caused. She resigned because the peoples movement concerned her she saw the writing on the wall.

Franks called on the State Bar of Arizona to disbar Adel for her and her offices role in pursuing felony charges against protesters.

This goes beyond misconduct, Franks said. What Allister Adel and this office set out to do was retaliatory and malicious and weaponized the law in collusion with the deadliest police force in the United States to silence her political critics and to make political prisoners out of hundreds of people who were just simply demanding police to stop killing Black people. Allister Adel must never practice law again.

The street gang charges were bought against 14 people who participated in an October 17, 2020, social justice protest in downtown Phoenix. Police claimed they worked together so they couldn't get arrested and turned violent when officers apprehended them.

The case drew public outcry and intense media scrutiny that ultimately revealed issues surrounding the case, including misleading testimony to a grand jury. By July, 2021, all of the charges against the protesters were dismissed.

Kathy Brody, an attorney who represented one of the protesters facing gang charges, also chastised Adel for failing to supervise her deputy attorneys and seek severe punishments for those exercising their First Amendment rights.

These are reflections of a deeper culture in the county attorneys office that tolerates misconduct by prosecutors and that has been festering for far too long, Brody said. In my years as a criminal defense lawyer in this community, weve seen these failures of leadership at MCAO over and over again.

Christina Carter, another defense attorney, said she has grown used to prosecutors misrepresenting facts, leading to situations where one of her clients faced over 100 years in prison for protesting while carrying an umbrella.

Even after this office was aware of the fact that its prosecutors had fabricated a street gang, the office still fought under Allister Adels leadership to continue prosecuting these cases in full recognition that the charges were false, Carter said. It is ethically unacceptable and it is morally reprehensible when the law is used as a weapon to silence the critics of law enforcement which includes prosecutors.

Heather Hamel, a local civil rights attorney, echoed the sentiments of her colleagues and pushed for others within the Attorneys Office who were involved in the controversial decision to pursue gang charges against protesters to also face consequences for their actions.

It took us a long time to get here, Hamel said. And the only reason why were here is because everybody, everybody here, refused to give up on one another, refused to give up on this community, refused to give up on our hopes for a better future and that power and those hopes are what are going to continue to drive us in holding each and every single person and politician and prosecutor and police officer for what happened. Adel resigning was just the first step and I cannot wait for even more wins.

Adel's resignation sparked a race among potential candidates to gather enough signatures by April 4 to appear on theAug. 2 primary ballot.

During the press conference, Franks declined to publicly endorse any particular candidate but said that he wanted a county attorney willing and able to rebuild the office from the ground up.

"We want to see somebody who understands that the system isn't broken it's doing exactly what it's designed to do," he said.

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Activists celebrate Allister Adel's last day at MCAO, call for others to be held accountable - The Arizona Republic