Trump admin celebrated the prosecution of accused MS-13 ringleaders. Then the case fell apart twice
Prosecutors say the gang leaders ordered five killings or assaults, and federal juries twice deadlocked after hearing audio and witness testimony.
- Prosecutors will retry alleged MS-13 leaders Moises Rivera-Luna and Tokiro Rodas Ramirez for a third time in mid-September after two Washington juries failed to reach unanimous verdicts.
- The Justice Department alleges Rivera-Luna, known as 'Viejo Santos,' ordered murders and assaults from a Salvadoran prison cell, positioning him among the Trump administration's high-priority prosecution targets.
- During previous proceedings, jurors reported deliberating 'hopelessly' and reaching complete 'impasse,' forcing Judge Royce Lamberth to declare mistrials after hearing from 22 witnesses and extensive audio evidence.
- DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro's office has faced an alarming string of mistrials and acquittals this year, with legal experts describing the trend as 'embarrassing' for federal prosecutors.
- Defense attorney Christopher Davis notes that the meticulous nature of DC juries poses a major challenge for the Justice Department, as legal observers cite a sharp divide between local jurors and federal prosecutors.
16 Articles
16 Articles
How A Corrupt And Incompetent Justice Department Is Damaging Public Safety
We have focused, for good reason, on a series of cases brought by the Trump Justice Department in rank violation of the most basic principles of due process and federal prosecutorial practice. The attorneys general who green-lighted them will live in infamy when the history of the Department of Justice’s corrupt work during Trump 2.0 is written.Reprisal prosecutions brought for nakedly political reasons, like against James Comey and Letitia Jame…
CNN: Jeanine Pirro’s Office Keeps Losing Major Cases
CNN reports: The Trump administration celebrated the arrival of an alleged MS-13 mastermind on American soil in March 2025. But it was Moises Rivera-Luna — a man whom the Justice Department says ordered murders in the US from inside a Salvadoran jail cell more than a decade ago — who fell to his knees, stunned and grateful, in a Washington, DC, courtroom this April. It was the second time in five months the Justice Department had tried him befor…
The Trump administration welcomed the arrival on U.S. soil of an alleged MS-13 leader in March 2025.
Trump DOJ 'embarrassing' itself as it hits brick wall with jurors
During Donald Trump's second presidency, his administration official and allies in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have touted the case against an alleged MS-13 gang member, Moises Rivera-Luna. But that case and others have not gone well for the Trump DOJ, and according to CNN's Katelyn Polantz, a pattern of mistrials and retrials in DOJ's District of Columbia Office shows a major divide between jurors and pro-Trump prosectors.According to …
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