Across courtrooms in the United States, a quiet but consequential reckoning has unfolded: the Department of Justice pursued felony assault charges against protesters with considerable ambition, yet juries and judges have repeatedly declined to convict. An AP analysis of these outcomes reveals a persistent gap between prosecutorial intent and judicial judgment, raising enduring questions about the boundaries of law when applied to the turbulent, often ambiguous terrain of public dissent. The pattern invites reflection on what a society owes those it charges — and what it demands of those who ch