Queens woman who drove through Manhattan BLM protest turns down plea deal

[The Bobster]

NYC woman who drove through BLM protest refuses to plead guilty

Kathleen Casillo, accused of driving through a Black Lives Matter protest a year ago, is refusing to plead guilty in the case — risking a year in jail.

nypost.com

Queens woman who drove through Manhattan BLM protest turns down plea deal​

By
Lee Brown


December 2, 2021 7:22am
Updated









Queens woman who drove through Manhattan BLM protest turns down plea deal



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A Queens woman accused of driving through a Manhattan Black Lives Matter protest a year ago has refused a plea deal — choosing to stand trial because she insists she had been under attack.
Kathleen Casillo, 52, was caught in shocking video footage as she drove her black BMW sedan through the protest against ICE detentions in Midtown on Dec. 11 last year.
Kathleen Casillo refused a plea deal for her role in a December 2020 incident when she appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court.Steven Hirsch
It shows her stopped at 39th Street and Third Avenue with protesters in front of her car — seconds before she floors it, with people screaming and rushing to help those left crumpled on the ground.
Casillo insisted at the time that she felt under attack from protesters who were screaming abuse and banging on her car. She was released within hours with a desk ticket, The Post noted at the time.
Kathleen Casillo was offered a deal of six days of community service and a suspension of her driver’s license for a year. Steven Hirsch
On Wednesday, she appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court, where she was offered a plea deal of just six days’ community service and a year’s suspension of her license, DailyMail.com said.
But she turned down the offer — preferring to take her case to a jury, the outlet noted.
Casillo was accused of driving through a BLM protest in Manhattan last December.Kevin Cox via Storyful
The 52-year-old claims she was under attack by the demonstrators. Kevin Cox via Storyful
Protesters gathered outside the court, even bringing a TV to play footage of the incident, photos by amNewYork show.
Some chanted “Black Lives Matter!” while others carried signs saying that “Kathleen Casillo is Kyle Rittenhouse,” the teen gunman recently acquitted of all charges over the deadly shooting at BLM protests last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
“Kathleen Casillo drove her car at top speed through a crowd of human beings. I was one of those human beings — I never saw her coming,” Roque Rodriguez told the outlet outside court.
Kathleen Casillo, who is due back in court on Jan. 28, 2022, was charged with reckless endangerment following the incident. Getty Images Protesters gathered outside the courthouse during Kathleen Casillo’s court appearance in December 2020. Steven Hirsch
“She hit me flush from behind and set my body flying and flipping through the air and she kept driving.
“It’s white supremacy that allowed Kathleen to believe she had the right to end the lives of anyone that got in her way, especially BLM protesters,” Rodriguez insisted.
She also blasted Assistant District Attorney Andrew Mercer for the lenient handling of the case, as well as not following up with seven of the nine people allegedly hit.
A protester has his leg bandaged after the car struck multiple Black Lives Matter protesters on Dec. 11, 2020.AFP via Getty Images
“He did no due diligence, and instead assumed that Kathleen did not have bad intentions and that no one else was seriously harmed,” Rodriguez claimed.
Tabitha Howell said she was left with “five bulging discs in my back and a traumatic brain injury.”
“It’s one thing to face physical recovery. It’s another to try to process what happened mentally and emotionally,” Howell said.
NYPD officers surround Casillo’s car after she struck multiple Black Lives Matter protesters on Dec. 11, 2020.AFP via Getty Images
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office insisted to the paper that it “has attempted to speak with every victim in this case.”
Casillo is due back in court on Jan. 28.

 

[The Bobster]

NYC woman Kathleen Casillo, who drove through BLM protest, says no to plea deal again

Kathleen Casillo turned down a plea deal in exchange for a one-year driver license suspension and six days of community service.

nypost.com

NYC woman Kathleen Casillo, who drove through BLM protest, says no to plea deal again​

By
Elizabeth Rosner and

Mark Lungariello


November 30, 2022 2:51pm
Updated

​

A Queens woman accused of driving her car through a Black Lives Matter protest rejected a plea deal for the second time — even though she could face up to seven years in the slammer if convicted at trial.
Kathleen Casillo, 53, plowed her BMW into pedestrians in Midtown Manhattan in a caught-on-video incident in December 2020, but she has claimed she hit the pedal out of fear of an angry mob that was trying to pull her and her daughter from the car.
Casillo’s lawyer told The Post she said no to a deal that would have had her plead guilty in exchange for a one-year driver license suspension and six days of community service.
Casillo nixed the plea deal in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday, nearly a year after she first said no to the same offer on charges of reckless assault and reckless endangerment.
Kathleen Casillo turned down a plea deal Tuesday for six days of community service and a suspension of her driver’s license for a year.Steven Hirsch
Her defense attorney Oliver Storch said there are additional videos of the encounter that have surfaced and are being presented to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
“We are in the process of providing the DA’s office with video showing agitators harassing patrons of businesses along the protest before descending on Mrs. Casillo and her daughter by physically putting their hands on the hood of her car, jumping on the hood and attempting to smash the car window and attempting to open said car,” Storch said.
“Nobody should ever have to be forced into a fight or flight predicament when simply on their way to go Christmas shopping.”
Casillo and her then-29-year-old daughter were Christmas shopping when they found themselves faced with BLM protesters at East 39th Street and Third Avenue at around 4 p.m. The group was demonstrating in support of people jailed in the region by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Queens woman faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.Steven Hirsch Casillo was arrested Dec. 11, 2020.Getty Images
Casillo claimed that protesters began banging on her car and tried to get her and her daughter out of the BMW before she floored it. Video of the incident showed several pedestrians sent flying as the car veers through the protest.
“I never intended on hurting anyone,” Casillo told The Daily Mail in a 2021 interview. “I just feared for my daughter’s life more than anybody. I thought they were going to pull her out of the car.”
Some local activists had called for increased charges against Casillo, who is Italian American, and have demonstrated outside the courthouse.
One person allegedly hit by the car said at a rally last year that “white supremacy” allowed the driver to believe “she had the right to end the lives of anyone that got in her way, especially BLM protesters,” according to amNewYork.
Casillo’s court appearances have been met with protests of their own.Steven Hirsch
“This unfortunate incident occurred during the chaos of COVID ravaged 2020 Manhattan, when the streets were ruled by violent agitators engaged in lawlessness with impunity, in the wake of the tragic death of George Floyd,” Casillo’s attorney said in a statement.



“Individuals should always be able to protest zealously and loudly but without creating a dangerous situation as happened here,” Storch went on. “Law and order must return to Manhattan with protestors coexisting with residents not being afraid to be confronted by angry mobs, creating dangerous situations.”

 

[The Bobster]

NYC woman who plowed into BLM protestors dodges jail time with plea deal

Kathleen Casillo, who plowed her BMW into a Black Lives Matter protest in Midtown, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and will have to do five hours of community service — but will not face any …

nypost.com

NYC woman who plowed into BLM protestors dodges jail time with plea deal​

By
Jack Morphet and
Jorge Fitz-Gibbon


May 1, 2023 4:39pm
Updated







A Queens woman who plowed her car into Black Lives Matter protestors in Midtown was berated by demonstrators outside Manhattan court Monday after she cut a sweetheart plea deal with prosecutors, dodging jail time.
Kathleen Casillo, 53, faced seven years in prison if convicted in the December 2020 incident that left six people injured — but was instead sentenced to five hours of community service as part of the agreement with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Under the deal, Casillo pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, but that will get knocked down to a mere disorderly conduct violation if she fulfills her sentence and stays out of trouble for six months, prosecutors and her lawyer said.
“You f—ed people’s lives up, you’re a criminal,” one demonstrator screamed at Casillo following the plea hearing in Manhattan Supreme Court. “You’re a criminal and you have not taken responsibility.”
The woman slammed Casillo’s claims that she had hit the gas in panic because the protestors were being “aggressive.”
“They didn’t do anything,” the demonstrator said. “My husband’s back was turned when you hit him and sent him flying into the air. His back was turned. How was that aggressive?”
But Casillo’s defense lawyer said justice had been served.

Kathleen Casillo, left, in Manhattan Supreme Court with her attorney, Oliver Storch, on Monday. Casillo, who drove into a BLM protest in Midtown in 2020, agreed to a plea deal that requires five hours of community service but no jail time.Curtis Means for DailyMail.com
“We’re very gratified after an exhaustive and thorough review the Manhattan DA’s office has decided that Kathleen Casillo should not receive a criminal conviction, which we have maintained from the beginning of the case,” attorney Oliver Storch said.


“Ms. Castillo is a retired grandmother who looks forward to putting this horrible ordeal behind her and spending time with her family,” Storch said. “Her thoughts and prayers go out to anybody injured.”


A contrite Casillo also apologized as she left court.


“I”m sorry for everyone, I really am,” she said.


Casillo was in her black BMW sedan with her 29-year-old daughter on Dec. 11, 2020 when she drove into a BLM protest on 39th Street and Third Avenue.

Casillo in Manhattan court on Monday, where she pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment. She faces no jail time for driving her car into a BLM protest in Midtown in 2020, injuring six people under the plea agreement.Curtis Means for DailyMail.com
She told cops she feared for her safety — and her daughter’s — when she panicked and stepped on the gas.


Video footage of the incident showed several protestors being hurled into the air, with six people suffering injuries that were non-life-threatening.


Casillo was charged with reckless assault and reckless endangerment and released without bail.


She twice turned down deals that would have had her perform six days of community service and suspended her driver’s license for one year, in exchange for a guilty plea.


Prosecutors with DA Alvin Bragg’s office said Monday they agreed to the new terms because Casillo had no criminal record, did not flee the scene, did not intend to hurt the protestors and took responsibility for the incident.

Casillo, 53, was berated by demonstrators after agreeing to a sweetheart plea deal with Manhattan prosecutors that will have her dodge any jail time for plowing her car into a BLM protest in Midtown in 2020. Gabriella Bass
“We believe, given all this, it is just to permit the defendant to try to earn a non-criminal disposition,” Assistant District Attorney Andrew Mercer said in court.


“If she fails in fulfilling any of the conditions of this plea — that is, if she does not complete the community service or gets rearrested in the next year — she will not be permitted to withdraw her plea,” Mercer said. “The misdemeanor conviction will stand and she will face possible jail time.”




Under state law, misdemeanor convictions can warrant jail terms of up to one year.
Casillo is due back in court on June 9.