Arizona Suspends Prosecutor for Wrongfully Charging BLM Protesters
The State Bar of Arizona suspended on Tuesday a former Maricopa County prosecutor who was fired last year for wrongfully charging 15 Black Lives Matter protesters as gang members in 2020. Judge Margaret Downie ruled that April Sponsel “violated duties owed to her client, to the members of the public, to the legal system, and to the profession.” Despite over 40 felony cases being let go, Sponsel denied she was at fault. The prosecutor was dismissed from her position in June 2022, with a notice of the decision stating, “You wrongfully indicted an innocent person because you presented inaccurate evidence to a grand jury, you failed to review available evidence, and when you were made aware that you may have an innocent person under indictment you did little to ensure that your prosecution was just.” An attorney for Sponsel did not respond to a request for comment from ABC15.
