ANDY NGO REPORTS: Antifa member pleads not guilty by ‘reason of insanity’ at start of San Diego Antifa felony conspiracy trial

Sparks flew at the start of an Antifa violent felony conspiracy trial in San Diego on Monday involving three Antifa riot suspects as one claimed he was insane while a second co-defendant took a last-minute plea deal.

Jeremy Jonathan White, 41, surprised the court and prosecutors by entering a plea of “not guilty by reason of insanity.” San Diego County Prosecutor Makenzie Harvey protested that the plea was “not timely” and complained that she had communicated with Curtis Briggs, White’s leftist pro-bono attorney, just days ago and he made no mention of this change of plea. The prosecutor suggested this move was “gamesmanship” in an attempt to further delay the jury trial for a case stemming from a violent Antifa riot more than three years ago.

Background

On Jan. 9, 2021, roving mobs of black-clad So Cal Antifa members attacked supporters of Donald Trump and people walking on the boardwalk at Pacific Beach in San Diego County. Eleven people, about half from Los Angeles, were indicted in 2022 by a secret grand jury on a total of 29 felonies, including conspiracy to riot, assault and other violent crimes. Prosecutors alleged the defendants engaged in a coordinated plan to assault people with weapons.

Before this week's pre-trial hearing, eight co-defendants had already been convicted through plea deals. San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan has been targeted by far-left extremists for using felony conspiracy charges in the prosecution. The George Soros-backed candidate who lost in her DA campaign against Stephan in 2018 accuses the San Diego DA, without evidence, of being “alt-right”—an accusation repeated by the convicts, defendants and their attorneys in this trial.

Eight So Cal Antifa members have been convicted so far through plea deals

DA Stephan’s prosecution is the first time Antifa rioters had been charged with a conspiracy in the U.S. Since then, the Attorney General in Georgia charged 61 Antifa-linked extremists with domestic terrorism, money laundering and other crimes for their alleged role in the “Stop Cop City” terrorist attacks.

Not guilty by reason of insanity?

In reaction to Jeremy Jonathan White’s insanity claim, Judge Daniel B. Goldstein noted that a plea of “not guilty by reason of insanity” is normally expected at arraignment, which would have been years ago when he first appeared in court. But the judge commented on the difficulty of denying an insanity plea and noted that it can be entered even as late as during trial if there is “good cause.”

The prosecutor insisted there is no "good cause" to delay the trial and that there is significant video evidence of White committing crimes during the Antifa riot.

Jeremy Jonathan White came to the attack in riot gear and was carrying bear mace

The judge offered a compromise: White’s guilt would be determined in the first jury trial, and if he is found guilty, there would be a second trial with a new jury to determine his sanity. Goldstein then spoke directly to the defendant and told him that if the jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity, he could be kept against his will in a mental hospital for “the rest of your life.”

White’s attorney suggested that his client’s new insanity plea might be withdrawn at a later date, depending on what a mental health expert determines. White also submitted a report to the court written by a psychologist hired by him who defended his use going to the attack with riot gear and a weapon (bear spray).

Dr. Martin Williams wrote: “In my professional opinion, the ‘suit of armor,’ Mr. White’s carrying bear spray, as well as Mr. White’s role of protecting others as a medic was a manifestation of Mr. White’s PTSD.” The psychologist said that any imprisonment would be “life-threatening” due to White’s history of domestic abuse and depression.

Jeremy White has a long history of far-left militant activism in southern California; White was identified in evidence as one of the Antifa members at the San Diego riot in all-black riot gear (right)

The prosecution’s suggestion that the insanity claim is an attempt to play the court may be backed by a prior failed last-ditch effort by White’s attorney to get the case thrown out of San Diego County. Curtis Briggs, of Oakland, filed a motion in October 2023 to move the case to the California Attorney General’s office, where he hoped the Democrat prosecutor would dismiss the entire case. Judge Goldstein rejected the motion for lack of merit.

Though claiming to be insane, White is engaging in a media blitz with left-wing outlets, including It’s Going Down. IGD is a propaganda site for Antifa extremists. In 2020, the site published a claim of responsibility for an attempted train derailment in Washington state that led to federal terrorism convictions. It also published posts telling readers to commit violent crimes and acts of vandalism. IGD was banned on Twitter, now X, for violent extremism.

In a separate interview on the Pod Damn America leftist podcast, White repeatedly slammed DA Summer Stephan, accusing her of being a “right-wing Trump-supporting anti-antifa person.” He claimed: “So a Nazi went to the DA and demanded a case be built—and that’s where all this came from…They’re charging us with conspiracy, but I think the real conspiracy is the DA’s case with these white supremacists — going after just leftists.”