There is yet another delay in the trial of Antifa protester Yvette Felarca. It has been nearly three years since the incident for which Felarca was arrested. She has attempted several times, unsuccessfully, to have the charges dismissed and now her attorneys, and those of two other Antifa members also facing charges, seem to be hoping to delay the case indefinitely:

Wednesday, after months of false starts and continuances, was supposed to be the day that the three anti-fascists finally confirmed a trial date – for late September. Judges have been impatient, as well as supporters and defendants, over the past few months as the highly-anticipated trial approached…

But alas, two of three defense attorneys Wednesday confessed to the court that they couldn’t fulfill the late September trial date because one would be out of the state, and another had a homicide trial conflict.

The court balked and demanded a written motion. Deputy District Attorney Paris Coleman – who co-prosecuted the neo-Nazi defendant almost a year ago – also jumped to his feet to object to another delay…

Shanta Driver, the attorney for Felarca, said she’d [be] out of state at the proposed September trial date.

Felarca was arrested in July of 2017. Since then it has been one tactic after another by her attorneys to keep her from facing a jury. Throughout 2018 she tried to have the charges against her dismissed on the grounds that her prosecution was part of a “political witch hunt.” The first attempt to get a dismissal failed in May. Felarca’s attorneys filed a second request for dismissal which claimed the video showing Felarca punching a member of the Traditional Workers Party might be doctored.

A judge was supposed to rule on the 2nd request for dismissal on December 6th. While a reporter for Berkleyside was standing outside the courtroom he overheard attorneys for Felarca and the two other Antifa members discussing plans to file a 3rd request for dismissal and admitting they would get “buried” in a trial:

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.

The Dec. 6 hearing was continued until Dec. 18th at which point one of Felarca’s lawyers, Shanta Driver, came down with the flu. The hearing was continued until late January.  In February, Felarca’s attorneys asked for another delay, this time claiming they were close to a plea deal with prosecutors, but that deal never materialized.

In April, a judge finally set a trial date for July 15, 2019. That date was delayed until September because the attorneys involved claimed scheduling conflicts. Now it’s being delayed again for the same reason, though the attorneys are supposed to meet today to discuss when their schedules might finally clear up. How does 2022 look?

I’m going to make a bold prediction. The start of the trial will be pushed off to November and when that date arrives, the attorneys will invent—excuse me—they’ll announce some new conflict or illness and seek another delay to drag this out until next year. The goal seems to be to wear the prosecution down until they are willing to accept lesser charges just to be rid of this case. I hope I’m wrong about all of this but given the track record thus far, I don’t think so.

But the prosecutors shouldn’t give in. Here’s your regular reminder that Yvette Felarca was caught on video punching someone who wound up on the ground being beaten by her fellow Antifa goons. She should face a jury for this sometime this year: