Federal prosecutors have dropped at least 11 cases tied to President Donald Trump’s emergency law-and-order surge in Washington, D.C., a level of dismissals that magistrate judges say is wasting court resources and raising questions about whether charges were properly vetted.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh on Tuesday dismissed two felony assault cases at the request of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office, and he warned from the bench that the volume of cases is creating systemic problems. “That’s not the way it’s supposed to work, and it has real-world consequences,” Sharbaugh said, saying the sheer numbers have become a concern for the court.
More than 50 people have faced federal charges in the district since the 30-day emergency deployment of federal agents and National Guard members began on Aug. 7, and the White House has said more than 2,000 people were arrested since the intervention started. An Associated Press review of court records found at least 52 surge-related arrests have been charged in U.S. District Court; many additional cases have been filed in D.C. Superior Court.
The dismissals and other rebukes underscore the risks of an unprecedented flood of arrests that has produced headline-grabbing numbers but, according to judges and grand juries, sometimes faltered under legal scrutiny. Grand juries have refused to return indictments at least eight times in six separate surge-related cases — an unusually rare move that signals skepticism about the strength of evidence in some prosecutions.
Sharbaugh dismissed a felony assault charge against Scott Pichon, who was accused of spitting on two members of the South Carolina Army National Guard outside Union Station on Aug. 22; prosecutors replaced the federal felony with misdemeanor charges in D.C. Superior Court. Sharbaugh also dismissed the felony against Paul Nguyen, accused of assaulting a federal agent during a street fight on Aug. 23; prosecutors abandoned that charge and Nguyen was not recharged in federal court. Nguyen, who appeared in court wearing a sling, said his arm was broken during his arrest and that he spent five nights in jail before his release.
Prosecutors told Sharbaugh during separate hearings that the decisions to drop the felony counts followed reviews of the evidence, but they did not specify particular problems. Sharbaugh and other magistrate judges have pressed the U.S. attorney’s office for explanations as they process the surge caseload.
Pirro, a former Fox News host appointed U.S. attorney in May, has defended her office’s work. Spokesperson Tim Lauer said the office “follow[s] the evidence wherever it leads, constantly evaluating each case as it develops to rigorously follow the law and to bring swift justice — including a dismissal when it is in the interest of justice,” and noted the office has handled more than 1,700 cases.
That defense has met criticism from the bench. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui earlier this month said leaders of Pirro’s office have tarnished its reputation by bringing cases that do not belong in federal court and by holding people in custody for days while evaluating charges. Pirro responded by accusing Faruqui of allowing personal politics to influence his judicial judgment and criticized grand juries that refused to indict two people accused of threatening to kill Trump.
The dispute highlights broader tensions over the emergency deployment, which Trump has defended as making Washington streets safer. Judges overseeing initial appearances and detention hearings for surge-related defendants — including Sharbaugh, who was appointed last October and is among four magistrate judges assigned to such matters — are grappling with an unusually rapid influx of cases, some of which have been pared back or dropped entirely after review.
Legal experts say the wave of prosecutions raises questions about resource allocation and the criteria used for federal charges. For now, the string of dismissals and grand jury rebukes has prompted public scrutiny and sharper judicial oversight as the courts seek to sort through the surge’s caseload and ensure charging decisions meet federal standards.