I guess we are betting that your kind view of the Trump administration, who is still building camps to hold millions of “illegal immigrants” and has - so far - prosecuted

Target

What DOJ tried to prosecute

Where it stands

Political-prosecution case

James Comey — first case

False statements to Congress / obstruction

Dismissed because Trump-appointed prosecutor Lindsey Halligan was unlawfully appointed

Extremely strong appearance of retaliation. Trump publicly demanded Comey be prosecuted shortly before the indictment; the prior U.S. attorney had declined the case.

James Comey — second case

Alleged threat to Trump from the “86 47” seashell Instagram post

Pending; indicted April 28, 2026

Another unusually direct case against a longtime Trump adversary. Lawfare recently argued FBI evidence itself undercuts the prosecution’s theory.

Letitia James

Mortgage-related bank fraud / false statements

Initial indictment dismissed; two subsequent Virginia grand juries reportedly declined to re-indict

One of the clearest examples: Trump publicly demanded prosecution; the career prosecutor reportedly found insufficient evidence and was replaced.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Human-smuggling conspiracy after the administration was forced to return him from El Salvador

Dismissed for vindictive/selective prosecution; government appealed

This is the strongest judicial finding on the list: the judge actually concluded the prosecution was vindictive/selective, not merely that the defendant plausibly alleged it.

Southern Poverty Law Center

Wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering over payments to informants infiltrating extremist groups

Pending

Lawfare literally titled its analysis “The Politically Motivated Indictment of Southern Poverty Law Center,” pointing to major legal weaknesses and administration hostility toward SPLC.

Don Lemon, Georgia Fort and the St. Paul church-protest defendants

FACE Act / conspiracy-against-rights charges arising from an anti-ICE protest at a church

Pending; superseding indictment expanded to roughly 30 defendants

Lawfare treats the case as a major example of DOJ being used for political theater, particularly the prosecution of journalists Lemon and Fort.

Kat Abughazaleh and the “Broadview Six”

Felony conspiracy/interference charges against anti-ICE protesters outside the Broadview, Illinois facility

All charges dropped May 2026

Particularly ugly: prosecutors abandoned the case amid judicial scrutiny of apparent grand-jury misconduct. Lawfare calls it emblematic of the administration’s inability to make cases against its antagonists stick.

Jan “Jay” Carey

Charged with an obscure fire regulation immediately after burning a U.S. flag in protest of Trump’s anti-flag-burning order

Dismissed with prejudice

Exceptionally strong evidence. A judge permitted vindictive-prosecution discovery; DOJ dismissed the case immediately before it had to disclose motive evidence.

Sean Dunn

Felony assault sought after he threw a sandwich at a federal officer during Trump’s D.C. deployment

Grand jury refused felony; DOJ brought misdemeanor; jury acquitted him

White House publicized his arrest and administration officials attacked him personally.

Ras Baraka

Trespassing while Newark’s mayor was protesting/inspecting an ICE detention facility

Charges dropped

A federal agent was recorded saying they were arresting the mayor “per the deputy attorney general.” The magistrate sharply criticized making an arrest before adequately investigating.

Rep. LaMonica McIver

Impeding/interfering with federal officers during the same ICE-facility confrontation

Prosecution continuing/on appeal

Trump and DHS publicly attacked the Democratic congresswoman before trial; her defense alleges selective and vindictive prosecution.

Brad Lander

Misdemeanor arising from attempted congressional/official oversight of an ICE holding facility

Acquitted, June 2026

Arrest and prosecution were accompanied by explicitly political DHS statements.

David Huerta

Federal charge after the SEIU president protested an immigration raid

Felony reduced to misdemeanor; charge dismissed, July 2026

Protect Democracy flags both political interference and selective enforcement.

Hannah Dugan

Milwaukee judge accused of helping an immigrant avoid ICE officers

Convicted of felony obstruction; acquitted on concealment charge

Unlike most of these, DOJ actually obtained a conviction. Bondi and Patel publicly presented the prosecution as a warning to others resisting immigration enforcement.

15 Direct Action Minnesota members

Conspiracy to impede/injure federal officers and related charges arising from resistance to Operation Metro Surge

Pending

Protect Democracy identifies this as the second wave of prosecutions of anti-ICE protesters after a first wave of 36 cases, at least 18 of which had already been dropped.

David Hearn

Felony vandalism of Trump’s renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

DOJ dropped the case after evidence showed defective installation was responsible; White House subsequently explored reviving it

A striking recent example: Trump publicly blamed “vandals,” prosecutors indicted Hearn, then acknowledged the physical evidence undermined the accusation.

Christian Garcia

Assault on a federal officer after throwing a plastic water bottle during an immigration protest

Dropped, January 2026

One of a much larger category of unusually aggressive prosecutions arising from anti-immigration-enforcement protests.

Smartmatic

Trump DOJ added the voting-machine company itself to a preexisting FCPA/bribery case

Pending

This is one I would have missed without checking Lawfare. The individual bribery case began under Biden in 2024, but Trump’s DOJ added Smartmatic as a corporate defendant in October 2025 despite simultaneously restricting corporate FCPA prosecutions. Smartmatic had sued Fox, Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Jeanine Pirro over 2020-election lies. Lawfare treats its vindictive/selective-prosecution claim seriously.

John Bolton

18 classified-information counts

Pleaded guilty to one felony in June 2026

Here is the list of people they are threatening to indict

• Adam Schiff
• John Brennan
• Lisa Cook
• Jerome Powell
• Gavin Newsom
• E. Jean Carroll
• Reid Hoffman
• Chris Krebs
• Miles Taylor
• Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz
• Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison
• Other Minnesota Democratic officials tied to resistance to federal immigration enforcement
• Rep. Jason Crow
• Rep. Maggie Goodlander
• Rep. Chrissy Houlahan
• Sen. Elissa Slotkin
• Rep. Chris Deluzio