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Leftists charged in Lancaster rioting learn — to the tune of $1 million bail each — their antics don't fly in Pennsylvania Dutch Country
Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @ElijahShaffer

Leftists charged in Lancaster rioting learn — to the tune of $1 million bail each — their antics don't fly in Pennsylvania Dutch Country

Toto, I don't think we're in Portland anymore

A Pennsylvania judge threw ye olde book at nine fine people charged in connection to riots in Lancaster over the weekend — and alas none of them could scare up the cash to post bail, which was set for each at $1 million, the New York Post reported.

Where, oh, where is Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler — and the get-out-of-jail-with-no-bail policy that rioters in his city love — when you need him?

What are the details?

Riots broke out Sunday over the fatal shooting of a knife-wielding man by police. It was the usual M.O. A mob marched to the police station and threw glass bottles, rocks, bricks, gallon jugs filled with liquid, and plastic road barricades at cops, police told the Post.

But police managed to arrest over a dozen people around 3 a.m. Monday, the paper said.

Twelve adults — Jamal Shariff Newman, 24; Barry Jones, 30; Frank Gaston, 43; Yoshua Dwayne Montague, 23; Matthew Modderman, 31; Talia Gessner, 18; Kathryn Patterson, 20; Taylor Enterline, 20; T-Jay Fry, 28; Dylan Davis, 28; Lee Alexander Wise, 29; Jessica Marie Lopez, 32 — face felony and misdemeanor charges, including arson, riot, institutional vandalism, and criminal conspiracy, the Post said, adding that Montague also faces a charge of illegal possession of a firearm.

A 16-year-old male also was arrested on charges of riot, disorderly conduct, possession of instruments of crime, possession of a small amount of marijuana, propulsion of missiles onto a roadway, and institutional vandalism, the paper added.

Ouch!

And with that, Magisterial District Judge Bruce A. Roth set bail for nine of the defendants — Newman, Jones, Montague, Modderman, Gessner, Patterson, Enterline, Fry, and Davis — at $1 million each, the Post said, adding that court records show all of them were unable to post the cash.

They're being held at the Lancaster County Prison, the paper said, adding that bail information for Lopez wasn't available and Wise's bail was set at $100,000, which also was a tad too rich for his blood. Gaston was on probation and a detainer would be lodged against him, police said, the Post reported.

'Politically motivated attack'

Social justice advocacy group Lancaster Stands Up claimed Patterson and Enterline were working as "medics" when they were arrested, the Post said.

"The absurdly high bail amounts indicate that what we're seeing is not a measured pursuit of justice, but a politically motivated attack on the movement for police reform and accountability," the group tweeted, according to the paper.

More from the Post:

Lancaster Stands Up then called on a number of elected officials, including Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace and Gov. Tom Wolf, "to step in and defend Taylor, Kathryn and other peaceful protestors against the politically motivated actions of local law enforcement, prosecutors and judges."

Jumping the gun again?

Turns out that just after the shooting, social media posts claimed police killed an unarmed, autistic teenager. But bodycam video of the shooting was quickly released, and officials revealed the deceased was a 27-year-old man who chased the officer with a knife.

But it seemed — as with other riots this summer — the initial rumors were just too good to pass up for rioters.

(Content warning: Language):

Lancaster police said the local district attorney is now investigating the incident to determine whether lethal force was legally justifiable in the case.

The man killed by police was later identified as Ricardo Munoz, the Associated Press reported. He was set to go to trial in October on charges he slashed four people last year, the Post added.

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Dave Urbanski

Dave Urbanski

Sr. Editor, News

Dave Urbanski is a senior editor for Blaze News.
@DaveVUrbanski →