In June of 2020, Justin Bautista-Jones, better known as ‘Brother Jones’ locally, was one of the publicly visible (often by design) protestors at the State Capitol. He received a lot of pushback from his own community after it was discovered he was often only making appearances when he knew there would be media coverage, and eventually had a falling out with one of the other most visible female members of the group. Throughout the entire time, he has faced over a dozen charges but always denied that he was violent – despite multiple assaults, assault on an officer, and reckless endangerment charges. In the newly obtained video, one of his assaults was captured, and presented to the Grand Jury – and he was indicted on two counts of reckless endangerment.
Jones held his own press conference on Wednesday when he turned himself in and garnered the attention of some small outlets who portrayed the charges as outlandish and unjust. The video, however, clearly shows evidence to substantiate the two charges levied against Jones.
While jones does face these and more serious charges such as assault and assault on an officer, there are certain charges which do seem an overreach given the circumstances. The District Attorney has maintained multiple other charges against Jones, including trespassing, disrupting a meeting, and aggravated littering. While most would agree those charges should likely all be dismissed, it appears they will instead be used as leverage in a plea – a common practice in Nashville and most other cities.
In a statement, Glenn Funk related that his office does not intent to prosecute peaceful protestors. ][emphasis added]
| Bautista-Jones, Justin | 2021-B-918 | 1725 ORDWAY PL Nashville, TN 37206 | ROR | Reck. End. |
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