No jail time for women who drove car into BLM protesters

A woman who drove her car into Black Lives Matter protesters in New York City over two years ago will not be facing jail time after agreeing to a plea deal with prosecutors.

Kathleen Casillo was driving between 39th Street and Third Avenue in Midtown Manhattan when she drove her black BMW sedan through a group of Black Lives Matter protesters with her 29-year-old daughter in the passenger seat on December 11, 2020. Leaving six people injured from the incident. Despite such a violent offense Casillo is now free after taking a plea deal and is sentenced to five hours of community service.

If Casillo was to be convicted she was to face seven years in prison but instead took a plea deal and was able to get away with just five hours of community service after people’s lives had been put in danger because of her actions. The New York Post reported that under the deal Casillo has pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor. But that has a possibility of being knocked down to a mere disorderly conduct violation if her sentence is fulfilled and with good behavior for the next six months.

Casillo claimed that she panicked and hit the gas because the protesters were being “aggressive” and she feared for her and her daughter’s safety. However, by watching the video it can be seen that neither Casillo nor her daughter were in any type of danger and their safety had not been threatened by the protesters when she sped her car through the group of people. This plea deal grants Casillo the opportunity to not take any actual responsibility for her actions that day. This case, like many others, is proof that even in 2023 Black and Brown people continue to have harsher sentences for smaller crimes compared to that of White people who get lenient sentences and are often able to walk free for crimes that are way more severe.