All Eyes on Prairieland: Judge Attacks Right to Fair Trial in First “Antifa” Case
This below originally posted on the website of the National Lawyers Guild – a Protect the Protest coalition member. It is a follow up to our preview story on Prairieland: Who Isn’t a Domestic Terrorist: 19th Prairieland Defendant Should Concern Us All.
After spending over seven months in multiple jails across North Texas, the Prairieland Defendants finally had their federal trial start on Tuesday, February 17. But then, as soon as the first defense attorney started asking questions to the prospective jurors, presiding Judge Mark Pittman declared a mistrial. Why? Because attorney MarQuetta Clayton, the only Black woman among the defense lawyers and counsel for defendant Maricela Rueda, was wearing a t-shirt featuring civil rights leaders of the past. Judge Pitman also took issue with Ms. Clayton’s voir dire questions, which reasonably probed jurors’ feelings about protest.
As experienced defense attorneys, we can attest that Ms. Clayton did nothing wrong. Despite both the prosecution and the defense opposing more delays, Judge Pittman nevertheless declared a mistrial and dismissed the entire jury pool. Significantly, immediately before the judge’s decision, prospective jurors had overwhelmingly expressed criticism of ICE, and several took the position that the Second Amendment extends to protests – opinions with which the judge appeared to take issue.
Ms. Clayton now faces a threat of being held in contempt at a hearing that Judge Pittman has announced will take place after the trial commences. NLG affirms that Ms. Clayton is clearly facing anti-Black retaliation for her zealous advocacy, while wearing a t-shirt with Black civil rights icons.
Alarmingly, this mistrial order is just the latest example of attacks on the Prairieland Defendants’ constitutional rights to access to counsel, a fair and impartial jury, an adequate defense, a public trial, and more. Judge Pittman has made highly unusual moves that suppress defense teams and which federal lawyers have not seen during their entire careers:
Judge Pittman refused to allow local counsel, George Lobb, to represent defendant Maricela Rueda, threatening to hold him in contempt for 90 days if he did not withdraw from his role as her attorney. This led Rueda to hire Ms. Clayton as her attorney.
Judge Pittman attempted to place limits on defense objections, allowing only one defendant’s lawyer to object during the prosecution’s case. After a motion from attorney Leigh W. Davis, counsel for defendant Ines Soto, the judge is now limiting duplicative objections which, practically, will still limit defendant-specific arguments.
In a pretrial hearing, Judge Pittman fined attorneys Patrick McLain, Brian Bouffard and Bradley Sauer, counsel for defendant Zachary Evetts, $500 each for filing a discovery motion, effectively discouraging other defense attorneys from filing motions in the case. It is not only the right of counsel to file pre-trial motions; attorneys are obligated by the Rules of Professional Conduct to competently and diligently represent their clients. This ruling by Judge Pittman arguably violates defendants’ Sixth Amendment rights and puts counsel in an untenable position with respect to their independent professional ethical duties.
Defense attorneys have been allotted only eight minutes each for their opening statements, and 35 hours total across nine defendants to put up witnesses. Judge Pittman has justified these time limit restrictions in a case where several defendants are facing life in prison by citing “other pressing matters on the court’s docket.”
Since the mistrial, Judge Pittman has moved the trial to a smaller room in the Federal Courthouse in Fort Worth, and assigned an overflow room for the public to observe in Dallas, more than 30 minutes drive away.
Most recently, Judge Pittman ordered that only the Court will be allowed to ask questions to the jury during voir dire.
NLG remains extremely concerned about these cases. Defendants’ First Amendment rights to free expression, assembly, and association; their Sixth Amendment rights to counsel; their Fifth Amendment rights to a public trial; and their Second Amendment rights to bear arms are under attack in North Texas. If unchecked and ignored, this case and the judicial decisions coming from it will set a very dark precedent for the rest of the country.
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Image credit: Photograph of graffiti, USA v. Arnold et. al., No. 4:25-MJ-452, US District Court Northern District of Texas Forth Worth Division, Filed July 7, 2025, Page 5, https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx/media/1407136/dl?inline
