She was eventually arrested and charged as a result of the incident. Now, nearly two years later, she appeared in a Manhattan court yesterday where she was offered a plea deal by the prosecution. She could plead guilty and perform six hours of community service and have her license suspended for one year. She and her attorney turned down the deal, preferring to face a jury trial where she could receive up to seven years in prison. So was this a smart choice? Should she have been charged at all? (Daily Mail)

A New York City mother-of-three who plowed her BMW into a group of BLM protesters in 2020 has yet again refused a plea deal in favor of a jury trial.

Kathleen Casillo, 54, appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday nearly two years after she was accused of driving into pedestrians during the protest at the Manhattan intersection of 39th Street and Third Avenue on December 11, 2020.

Casillo could face seven years in prison after turning down the deal which involved six hours of community service and a one-year license suspension.

Casillo and her attorney told the court that they did not have an interest in the plea deal and would opt for a jury trial. They turned down the same plea deal a year ago.

We aren’t privy to the discussions between Casillo and her attorney, so it’s impossible to say if this was the course of action he advised or if she is forging ahead in this fashion on her own. But if the attorney agrees, he likely has a strong sense that the prosecution won’t be able get a guilty verdict out of a jury.

That’s a big chance to take, given the possible sentence hanging over her head for the charge of reckless assault. But reviewing all that’s known about the case, I would suggest that her odds are pretty good, depending on how well her attorney does during jury selection. Keep in mind that Casillo wasn’t even at the site of the actual protest. The march was a couple of blocks ahead. The people she encountered were trailing the main group and they intentionally stepped out into the street to block her vehicle.

Also, her daughter was in the car with her. When the group began beating on the car and then attempted to open the doors, she was in fear for her daughter’s life. They were hurling racist insults at her (“white privilege b**ch) so there was no misunderstanding of their aggressive actions. If the protesters hadn’t been intentionally blocking the street they wouldn’t have been hit.

It’s also worth noting (and it will likely be brought up during the trial) that Casillo has required police protection at her home because she has received multiple death threats against her and her family. Protesters call her Kyle Rittenhouse and it’s unsafe for her to walk the streets near her own home.

Given all of the details we have thus far, should Kathleen Casillo have been charged with reckless assault? At the time, there were analysts in New York who speculated that she was only charged in that fashion because the DA’s office was caving to public pressure, fearing additional wrath and reprisals from the BLM crowd. Nobody struck by the vehicle was killed, so it’s unclear what other charges could have been brought that she might have pleaded guilty to.

There is video available of her fleeing in her vehicle and colliding with a couple of people, but not of the incidents that led up to her escape. But given all of the destruction that took place in the city over the course of all of the BLM riots, would it really be difficult to find a few jurors who remember those times and would find her explanation of what happened entirely plausible?

If Ms. Casillo winds up going to prison for trying to escape from a mob and save the lives of herself and her daughter, that’s not going to be any sort of justice. But if she winds up being acquitted, don’t be shocked if you see a new round of riots in the streets calling for her head on a platter.