A candidate for Commonwealth’s Attorney in Charlottesville was in court this morning to defend himself against a charge of assault, but Jeff Fogel is so well known in legal circles that his trial must be postponed.
Jeff Fogel is a liberal Democrat who became the target of a verbal attack by white nationalists on the downtown mall last week.
“Trump, you need the wall. This guy has got to be the first one over it. You’re a traitor to this country!” shouted Jason Kessler.
When one of Kessler's friends screamed in his face, Fogel pushed him away, prompting a charge of assault. In Virginia, Fogel says, you don’t have to prove injury to make such a claim.
“Any unwanted touching can constitute an assault and battery. Most jurisdictions have changed it so that it requires some harm to the person.”
But not Virginia, and Fogel says that’s a problem for someone like him.
“What was I supposed to do when somebody puts their face in yours – a half inch away from your nose – and is screaming in your face?”
But when Fogel arrived in court today, the prosecutor didn’t prosecute and the judge didn’t rule. Both are personal acquaintances of the defendant.
“The Commonwealth’s Attorney doesn’t want to prosecute my case, so they need to get a special prosecutor.," Fogel explains. "The judge suggested that he might recuse himself, and they may need a special judge, so it’s all going to be discussed again on June 19th.”
In the mean time, Fogel is using his case to raise questions about the number of people arrested by Charlottesville police. On average, he says, cities this size book about 1,750 people a year, but in 2016, Charlottesville recorded about 2,500 arrests.