Berkleyside has published an update on the felony case against Antifa leader Yvette Felarca and it sounds as if the case isn’t going very well from the defense attorney’s point of view. In fact, the Berkleyside reporter overheard one of the attorneys saying they would need to come up with a 3rd dismissal motion because pursuing the current path would leave them “buried” in the courtroom. Luckily, they’ll have time to work on that new motion because Felarca’s attorney came down with the flu.

A preliminary hearing for the case, where Judge Stacy Eurie Boulware will decide whether to send it to trial, began Dec. 6. The hearing was scheduled to continue Dec. 18, but Felarca’s Michigan-based lawyer Shanta Driver has the flu, the defense said, so it was continued to Jan. 22.

In the meantime, the defense is likely to file a third motion to dismiss the case, Felarca told Berkeleyside in the Sacramento courthouse Tuesday.

“We’re continuing to look for ways to have this incredibly illegal case dismissed,” attorney Mark Reichel, who is representing another defendant, told Berkeleyside.

The DA is “selectively prosecuting people that fought fascists,” Reichel said. “We used to call them heroes in World War II.”

Speaking amongst themselves outside the courtroom, the defense attorneys indicated they would file a new dismissal motion that argues the case violates due process because it is politically motivated. If they instead continued on the same path to a trial, “Our bodies will get buried in that courtroom, if you ask me,” said attorney Linda Parisi to some of her colleagues and clients. This reporter, who has previously identified herself to several of the lawyers and defendants, was sitting nearby during the discussion. Other observers were also gathered in the hallway.

You may recall that the judge in this case already refused to dismiss the case against Felarca back in May. The dismissal motion her attorneys filed at that time claimed the case was a “political witch hunt” but the judge concluded, ” nothing in these exhibits supports the defendants’ claims…that they were unjustly or unfairly culled out.” Since then, Felarca’s attorneys filed a second request to dismiss the charges. Maybe the 3rd time will be the charm.

In any case, the preliminary hearing today featured testimony from CHP Officer Donovan Ayres who watched from a rooftop as a member of a white supremacist group approached the spot where he was attacked by Felarca and other Antifa members. When the video of the assault was played, an attorney for one of Felarca’s co-defendants said he was concerned about “editing and authentification.”

I’ve posted this video probably half a dozen times before. It clearly shows Felarca throwing punches at this guy. And given that she’s the leader of this mob, it’s not surprising other people follow her lead. The idea that this video isn’t reliable is a fantasy. Felarca’s attorney’s keep claiming she’s being targeted for her views but she’s being targeted because she was dumb enough to get caught being violent on video. It really should be that simple, but her fellow-traveler attorneys keep dragging this out in hopes their dopey claims will sound less ridiculous over time. So far it hasn’t worked. I hope the latest delay doesn’t improve their chances.