SWAMPSCOTT — Select Board members Peter Spellios and Polly Titcomb have requested that Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett drop all charges against Ernst Jean-Jacques Jr., a counter-protester accused of assaulting an elderly supporter of former President Donald Trump at a December rally.
“Failure to dismiss the charges against Mr. Jacques will further compromise the public’s confidence in our legal system and in the important service that police departments provide in our community and throughout the Commonwealth,” Spellios and Titcomb wrote in a letter to the DA.
Jacques, also known as Shimmy, was arrested at a Dec. 12 anti-Trump counter-protest in Swampscott’s Monument Square on charges of assaulting 80-year-old Linda Greenberg.
Blodgett sent a letter to Swampscott Police Chief Ronald Madigan regarding the investigation on Jan. 26, in which the DA’s office acknowledged receipt of the Select Board members’ letter, but gave no indication as to whether they would consider dropping the charges. The DA’s office could not be reached for additional comment.
Spellios and Titcomb wrote that video footage of the incident shows Jacques did not throw a punch at Greenberg, as was initially alleged by police reports, and that Jacques “was not the initial aggressor.”
The town officials cited a slow-motion video filmed by another counter-protester, which, though partially obscured, shows Jacques swatting downward in the direction of Greenberg’s torso with an open hand rather than a closed fist.
“The district attorney has been in receipt of this video since late December, which clearly shows that Mr. Jean-Jacques didn’t do the things that he was alleged to have done,” said Spellios.
“I’m not sure what the ADA is waiting for, but the charges should be dismissed. Waiting even another day continues the injustice against Mr. Jean-Jacques, who, as I understand, continues to not be able to work and whose reputation continues to be tarnished.”
Another angle of the incident, filmed by conservative radio host Dianna Ploss, who organizes the pro-Trump rally, shows Jacques being splashed by water from the direction of Greenberg.
Greenberg, who could not be reached for comment on the incident, was later seen on another video filmed by a counter-protester admitting to throwing water on Jacques.
After Jacques is splashed with water, the video shows him reaching across the barrier toward Greenberg forcefully with his right hand, causing the crowd of Trump supporters around Greenberg to call for the police.
Multiple Trump supporters who witnessed the scene reported to police that Jacques had punched Greenberg.
Two Swampscott police officers, one stationed at the scene and one who watched the video, both described seeing Jacques strike Greenberg, with one officer claiming he saw Jacques “punching Greenberg with his right fist,” and another reporting he saw Jacques “(clench) and (close) his fist,” and then “(wind) up, and with an extreme amount of force, throw a punch at (Greenberg),” according to a statement released by Jacques’ defense attorney Murat Erkan.
The aforementioned video footage later convinced the officer in charge for the Swampscott Police Department at the protests that day to issue a supplemental police report withdrawing the prior conclusion that Jacques had used a closed fist, according to the Select Board members’ letter.
Erkan’s office, Erkan and Associates, LLC, is aligned with Titcomb and Spellios in requesting that the DA drop charges against their client.
Erkan and Associates has also requested that charges be brought against Greenberg, and two additional Trump supporters who the attorneys claim were “obstructing justice by lying to the cops,” according to Amelia Caramadre, a law clerk for the firm.
The incident has sparked an internal Swampscott Police Department investigation to review the events that led to the arrest of Jacques.
“The Swampscott Police Department recognizes that citizens deserve to expect our officers have demonstrated the highest standards of professionalism,” said Madigan when the internal review was announced. “I expect that this internal investigation will help ensure that all of the facts will support the highest ethical standards of public safety and public service. Once complete, the findings in the report will be shared publicly to the fullest extent possible.”
The Swampscott Police Union defended its actions in the case, writing in a public letter that it was with “utmost disappointment” that it felt the need to defend itself against the premise of the investigation.
“We respectfully implore the citizens of Swampscott and those visiting our community to appreciate that a police officer’s role is not that of judge or jury,” the union’s letter reads. “When probable cause for a crime occurs, it is our obligation, under the oath we swore as officers of the law, to act in accordance with the judicial process, regardless of race, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, age, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation or political beliefs.”
“Although commendable, the department’s investigation does not relieve Mr. Jean-Jacques of the injustices leveled against him,” said Spellios and Titcomb in their letter.
Jacques will next appear in court for a pre-trial hearing on February 24.
Guthrie Scrimgeour can be reached at [email protected].