A left-wing activist network is training liberals how to slip onto juries in federal cases and then vote “not guilty” to derail prosecutions brought by the Trump Justice Department.
Recordings and training materials tied to the group Freedom Trainers show activists being coached on how to conceal their left-wing views during jury selection and then use jury nullification once they are seated on a jury. The webinars, slide decks, and pamphlets behind the effort all push the same approach: Blend in during selection, say the right things to get seated, and use the jury room to block convictions.
The premise is straightforward. Look like any other potential juror, avoid signaling their radical political agenda, and make it through voir dire, the jury selection process, without raising suspicion. Once deliberations begin, however, the guidance shifts sharply.
Training materials reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon lay out the strategy in direct terms.
“Never mention jury nullification,” the group instructs participants during jury selection. “Don’t signal an agenda,” and tell attorneys you will “listen to the evidence before forming conclusions.” Once selected, the guidance continues, jurors should vote “not guilty” for “any reason you believe is just.”
Freedom Trainers presents itself as a loose network of organizers focused on what it calls “collective noncooperation.” The group was formed in late 2024 by progressive activists preparing for the possibility of a second Trump administration.
Its leadership includes activist Daniel Hunter of Choose Democracy and Keya Chatterjee, executive director of Free DC and a former leader of the U.S. Climate Action Network. The organization says its trainers have already worked with hundreds of thousands of activists across the country.
The jury strategy pushes leftist activism directly into the courtroom.
During a recent webinar, Hunter described jury service as a way for activists to insert themselves into federal prosecutions and influence outcomes from inside the jury room.
“We have a legal remedy to correct when the court system, when the Department of Justice, has gone astray and awry,” Hunter told participants. “That is your right as a juror to stand up for what you believe to be right, to use your analysis, your conscience, your morals.”
The trainings go beyond explaining jury nullification. Participants are guided through specific steps designed to increase their chances of being selected.
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Activists are told to keep their addresses up to date so they receive jury summonses. During questioning, they are coached to dress neutrally, keep their answers brief, and avoid volunteering information that might reveal left-leaning activist affiliations or strong political views.
The goal is simple: Get through jury selection without raising alarm.
Once seated, however, the message becomes far more blunt. One training slide spells out the endgame with little ambiguity.
“You always have the option of finding the defendant ‘Not Guilty,’” the slide explains. “Even if you believe the law was broken. Even if the judge says you must convict.”
The strategy relies on jury nullification, the controversial practice in which jurors refuse to convict even when prosecutors prove the elements of a crime. Supporters argue it can serve as a safeguard against unjust laws. Critics say organized campaigns encouraging it risk turning juries into political weapons.
Freedom Trainers encourages leftists to spread the message beyond its webinars.
Participants are urged to distribute pamphlets outside courthouses on Monday mornings, when potential jurors typically report for duty, explaining that jurors can vote not guilty regardless of the evidence presented in court.
The Justice Department signaled it is aware of the issue and takes it seriously.
“While we respect jurors’ role in the judicial process, the Department takes jury nullification and interference with official proceedings extremely seriously,” a Justice Department spokeswoman said in a statement. “Any group attempting to improperly influence juries who should serve as impartial arbiters of evidence should be held accountable.”
Freedom Trainers and its fiscal sponsor, the Soros-funded activist group Community Change, did not respond to requests for comment about the training materials and webinars.
Legal observers say the strategy raises serious questions about organized efforts to influence juries before trials even begin.
Carrie Severino, president of the Judicial Crisis Network, warned that such campaigns threaten one of the justice system’s most fundamental safeguards.
“Dark-money networks are intent on attacking the judicial system at every level, with their latest scheme to sway juries and encourage citizens to nullify the law,” Severino said. “These attempts challenge the constitutional right to an impartial jury and encourage citizens to bypass laws passed by our elected representatives.”
The American justice system depends on jurors walking into a courtroom willing to weigh the evidence and follow the law as instructed by the judge. The entire structure weakens if jurors arrive with a preexisting political mission.
Training radical leftists to quietly enter jury pools with the goal of sabotaging prosecutions does not test the law. It sidesteps it.
And if organized political groups begin treating jury duty as another front in partisan activism, the courtroom stops being a place where facts decide cases. It becomes a place where verdicts are engineered before the trial even begins.
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