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NYC woman Kathleen Casillo, who drove through BLM protest, says no to plea deal again

She was definitely placed in a tough situation, but was that the fault of other ‘protestors’ (who ended up injured by her vehicle) who simply happened to be in the path of her escape route?
I don't know, it depends on who was hit and what they were doing. Not sure why they were jaywalking or milling about in the middle of the street, anyway.
It could (and IMHO should) be argued that those who attacked her were criminally responsible, but if none of them have been identified and/or charged with a crime the jury might not see it that way.
I think if a jury sees two women in a car surrounded by a mob whose hands and feet can be seen banging on the car, and whose hands can be seen trying to open the door, I would think most people would be like, "time to get the **** out of there...."

I also see her willingness to go to trial and risk years in jail, when she could have pled to a misdemeanor and gotten some community service, to be quite noteworthy. She's got guts. The legal system is stacked against her, yet she is willing to go the distance.
 
She's got guts. The legal system is stacked against her, yet she is willing to go the distance.
Many people in the Rotten Apple no doubt (secretly) admire her.

They know that they (and I) would not have her guts.

A real heroine in these troubled times!
 
Yeah, the mob was intentionally banging on her car, jumping on it, trying to open the doors and banging on the windows, not letting her drive away on a public road. All that was intentional. Her attempt to flee was apparently her only way out. If a mob encircles a person's car on the street and violently attacks it, what do you propose a driver do?

The problem (for her defense team) is defining who within that “mob” was attacking her and whether those attackers were her only victims. Injuring others (further down the street) who where not among that “mob” of attackers is what she is being charged with.
 
Yeah, the mob was intentionally banging on her car, jumping on it, trying to open the doors and banging on the windows, not letting her drive away on a public road. All that was intentional. Her attempt to flee was apparently her only way out. If a mob encircles a person's car on the street and violently attacks it, what do you propose a driver do?

Can you please post a video of people jumping on her car? I only saw one person holding the door handle and one person hitting the window before she took off.
 
The problem (for her defense team) is defining who within that “mob” was attacking her and whether those attackers were her only victims. Injuring others (further down the street) who where not among that “mob” of attackers is what she is being charged with.
This. Replace the car with a baseball bat, and see if the defense of her works.
 
Innocent. 6 people converging on the car, 4 in immediate proximity.

Capture.JPG
 

NYC woman Kathleen Casillo, who drove through BLM protest, says no to plea deal again​


Casillo’s lawyer told The Post she said no to a deal that would have had her plead guilty in exchange for a one-year driver license suspension and six days of community service.

Casillo nixed the plea deal in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday, nearly a year after she first said no to the same offer on charges of reckless assault and reckless endangerment.

“We are in the process of providing the DA’s office with video showing agitators harassing patrons of businesses along the protest before descending on Mrs. Casillo and her daughter by physically putting their hands on the hood of her car, jumping on the hood and attempting to smash the car window and attempting to open said car,” Storch said.

“Nobody should ever have to be forced into a fight or flight predicament when simply on their way to go Christmas shopping.”

Casillo and her then-29-year-old daughter were Christmas shopping when they found themselves faced with BLM protesters at East 39th Street and Third Avenue at around 4 p.m. The group was demonstrating in support of people jailed in the region by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Casillo claimed that protesters began banging on her car and tried to get her and her daughter out of the BMW before she floored it. Video of the incident showed several pedestrians sent flying as the car veers through the protest.

“I never intended on hurting anyone,” Casillo told The Daily Mail in a 2021 interview. “I just feared for my daughter’s life more than anybody. I thought they were going to pull her out of the car.”

Some local activists had called for increased charges against Casillo, who is Italian American, and have demonstrated outside the courthouse.

One person allegedly hit by the car said at a rally last year that “white supremacy” allowed the driver to believe “she had the right to end the lives of anyone that got in her way, especially BLM protesters,” according to amNewYork.

If it was a MAGA protest, she'd be dead already.

MAGA.
 
Can you please post a video of people jumping on her car? I only saw one person holding the door handle and one person hitting the window before she took off.
Best I can do is quote her attorney - “We are in the process of providing the DA’s office with video showing agitators harassing patrons of businesses along the protest before descending on Mrs. Casillo and her daughter by physically putting their hands on the hood of her car, jumping on the hood and attempting to smash the car window and attempting to open said car,” Storch said.

As noted above, my assumption is that those things are true. If they are not, then the facts change and reevaluation is in order.
 


Looks to me she created the problem by driving extremely aggressively.

I think her video starts at 3:12
 
Best I can do is quote her attorney - “We are in the process of providing the DA’s office with video showing agitators harassing patrons of businesses along the protest before descending on Mrs. Casillo and her daughter by physically putting their hands on the hood of her car, jumping on the hood and attempting to smash the car window and attempting to open said car,” Storch said.

As noted above, my assumption is that those things are true. If they are not, then the facts change and reevaluation is in order.
None of that would justify hurting people further down the road.
 
Best I can do is quote her attorney - “We are in the process of providing the DA’s office with video showing agitators harassing patrons of businesses along the protest before descending on Mrs. Casillo and her daughter by physically putting their hands on the hood of her car, jumping on the hood and attempting to smash the car window and attempting to open said car,” Storch said.

As noted above, my assumption is that those things are true. If they are not, then the facts change and reevaluation is in order.

Is there more video available? I count 6 people converging on that lady's car:

Capture.JPG

What the hell are they doing with their hands on the car?
 
I don't know, it depends on who was hit and what they were doing. Not sure why they were jaywalking or milling about in the middle of the street, anyway.

Hmm… are those (bolded above) acceptable as collateral damage to you? After all, they weren’t attacking her (or her vehicle) yet paid the price she decided that they deserved.

I think if a jury sees two women in a car surrounded by a mob whose hands and feet can be seen banging on the car, and whose hands can be seen trying to open the door, I would think most people would be like, "time to get the **** out of there...."

True, yet how far away counts as “out of there”?

I also see her willingness to go to trial and risk years in jail, when she could have pled to a misdemeanor and gotten some community service, to be quite noteworthy. She's got guts. The legal system is stacked against her, yet she is willing to go the distance.

She has guts, but those injured as collateral damage have rights not to get run down as well.
 
She belongs in prison.

I see the usual suspects are here to defend the white version of the "gay panic defense".
 
Indeed - the video above doesn't start at the very very beginning. The rioters were jumping on her car, banging into it, and literally trying to open the doors. The two women inside were afraid the mob was going to try to drag them out of the car.

Blocking a street during an non-permitted protest is illegal, attacking someone's car is illegal, if the person is in the car while it is being attacked is even more illegal and is the equivalent of assault and battery, and blocking someone in while others are trying to open the door and break the window does put someone in legitimate fear.

Reasonable doubt is all over this.


LMAO... Good luck convincing an NYC jury of that bs...
 
Holy shit. That was intentional and I'm surprised she didn't kill a lot of people.
Here’s a leftist saying that it violent leftist rioters surround your car you are just supposed to let them kill you.
 

NYC woman Kathleen Casillo, who drove through BLM protest, says no to plea deal again​


Casillo’s lawyer told The Post she said no to a deal that would have had her plead guilty in exchange for a one-year driver license suspension and six days of community service.

Casillo nixed the plea deal in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday, nearly a year after she first said no to the same offer on charges of reckless assault and reckless endangerment.

“We are in the process of providing the DA’s office with video showing agitators harassing patrons of businesses along the protest before descending on Mrs. Casillo and her daughter by physically putting their hands on the hood of her car, jumping on the hood and attempting to smash the car window and attempting to open said car,” Storch said.

“Nobody should ever have to be forced into a fight or flight predicament when simply on their way to go Christmas shopping.”

Casillo and her then-29-year-old daughter were Christmas shopping when they found themselves faced with BLM protesters at East 39th Street and Third Avenue at around 4 p.m. The group was demonstrating in support of people jailed in the region by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Casillo claimed that protesters began banging on her car and tried to get her and her daughter out of the BMW before she floored it. Video of the incident showed several pedestrians sent flying as the car veers through the protest.

“I never intended on hurting anyone,” Casillo told The Daily Mail in a 2021 interview. “I just feared for my daughter’s life more than anybody. I thought they were going to pull her out of the car.”

Some local activists had called for increased charges against Casillo, who is Italian American, and have demonstrated outside the courthouse.

One person allegedly hit by the car said at a rally last year that “white supremacy” allowed the driver to believe “she had the right to end the lives of anyone that got in her way, especially BLM protesters,” according to amNewYork.


I believe DeSantis has made is legal in Florida to drive over protestors.
 
What are the people down the street that she hit doing to her?
Being too close to a violent riot where people are attacking a motorist.

It’s no different than if you fire a bullet at a mass shooter and you miss and it hits someone at the other end of a mall. It’s not a crime in that case
 
What are the people down the street that she hit doing to her?
Being in the right of way.

While I can sympathize with them being in the wrong place at the wrong time, i can likely not find much fault when emergency type actions had to occur with the driver (in the ROW)
 
Being too close to a violent riot where people are attacking a motorist.

It’s no different than if you fire a bullet at a mass shooter and you miss and it hits someone at the other end of a mall. It’s not a crime in that case

Is that how New York sees it or just your opinion?
 
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