That's my thought as well. The article states the incident happened in DC, which is not in a state. Do feds have jurisdiction over DC? I'm honestly not familiar with how the DC criminal system works, but I doubt there'd have been any state charges to be dropped, given that DC is not in a state.
DC has a court system that is run by the federal government specifically for local cases. The judges are appointed by the president but they apply laws passed by the DC Council and mayor. The equivalent of the local prosecutor's office is run by a federal prosecutor. This probably makes it especially easy to turn crimes committed in DC into federal cases. (Up until the 1970s, crimes in DC were automatically federal cases, and in a sense they still are since DC local courts are overseen by the federal government, but the court system doesn't consider cases in DC Superior Court to be federal cases in the usual sense of the term.)
As the article actually says, "prosecutors are dismissing the local charges" (i.e., charges on laws passed by DC's local government). Not state charges, obviously, since there is no state.
POSTED:DEC 13 2016 06:19AM EST UPDATED:DEC 13 2016 09:52AM EST WASHINGTON - A North Carolina man who fired an assault rifle multiple times inside a D.C. pizza restaurant while investigating claims related to an internet conspiracy theory will face more serious federal charges.
FOX 5's Bob Barnard said that prosecutors dropped state charges against Edgar Maddison Welch during his appearance in Superior Court on Tuesday.
The investigation will now be taken over by federal authorities who are expected to pursue more serious charges.
Welch, who has been in custody since the December 4th incident at Comet Ping Pong, will remain in custody.
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whatonearth ago
I'm intensely curious about what state you guys think Comet Ping Pong is located in.
FPSFairy ago
That's my thought as well. The article states the incident happened in DC, which is not in a state. Do feds have jurisdiction over DC? I'm honestly not familiar with how the DC criminal system works, but I doubt there'd have been any state charges to be dropped, given that DC is not in a state.
whatonearth ago
DC has a court system that is run by the federal government specifically for local cases. The judges are appointed by the president but they apply laws passed by the DC Council and mayor. The equivalent of the local prosecutor's office is run by a federal prosecutor. This probably makes it especially easy to turn crimes committed in DC into federal cases. (Up until the 1970s, crimes in DC were automatically federal cases, and in a sense they still are since DC local courts are overseen by the federal government, but the court system doesn't consider cases in DC Superior Court to be federal cases in the usual sense of the term.)
As the article actually says, "prosecutors are dismissing the local charges" (i.e., charges on laws passed by DC's local government). Not state charges, obviously, since there is no state.
See more general discussion of this topic at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_of_Columbia_home_rule
HarveyKlinger ago
Original article said state charges.
Original Article: