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Will Cynthia McKinney Be Charged With A Crime?

As you have probably heard, Representative Cynthia McKinney may be in legal trouble for scuffling with a Capitol police officer when she entered a Congressional office building last week.   

The key facts are still a bit murky, but based on news reports, the story seems to go something like this: McKinney entered the building and bypassed the metal detectors, as members of the House of Representatives are permitted to do.  The Capitol Hill police officer guarding the entrance didn’t recognize McKinney, however, so he asked McKinney to stop.  He asked three times but she didn’t stop; when the officer chased after her and grabbed her, she hit him.

Will the U.S. Attorney’s Office charge McKinney with a federal crime?  If she is charged, I gather the offense would be a misdemeanor simple assault under 18 U.S.C. 111(a) or 18 U.S.C. 113(a)(5).  I don’t know who makes these sorts of calls within the U.S. Attorney’s Office, or what kinds of cases the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. tends to pursue.  As a result, I can only offer amateurish speculation.  My amateurish speculation, for what it’s worth, is that the U.S. Attorney’s Office will decline prosecution.  Three major reasons: First, McKinney was apparently on official business as a member of Congress at the time, and was well within her rights to enter the buidling without passing through the metal detectors.  Second, the officer apparently wasn’t hurt.  Third, the story is already a media circus, and will only become much more of a circus if McKinney is charged. 

What happened is obviously unfortunate, and doesn’t make Rep. McKinney look very good, but in context I tend to doubt charges will be brought.  If any readers have more informed views of this, please consider posting a comment.