NYC Woman Who Mowed Into Black Lives Matter Protestors Escapes Prison Time, Accepts Community Service

A woman facing seven years in prison for mowing her vehicle into a crowd of Black Lives Matter protestors, striking six people, was heckled outside a Manhattan courtroom Monday after she received five hours of community service.

According to The New York Post, Kathleen Casillo, 53, was looking at seven years in jail when she pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor. She made a deal with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office that if she stayed out of trouble for six months, the charge would be reduced to a disorderly conduct violation.

On December 11, 2020, Casillo drove her black BMW sedan into a Black Lives Matter protest in New York City. She was riding with her 29-year-old daughter in Manhattan on 39th Street and Third Avenue.

She told police officers she feared for herself and her daughter when she claimed she panicked and stepped on the gas. There is video footage of the incident revealing several people at the protest being hurled into the air. Fortunately, there were no fatalities.

Prosecutors in District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said earlier this week that they agreed to the deal due to Casillo not having a previous criminal record. That she did not leave the scene and had not intended to hurt the protestors, taking full responsibility for the incident, were also factored into the decision.

“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.”

She turned down two previous deals that would have sentenced her to six days of community service and suspended her driver’s license for one year in exchange for pleading guilty.

Her next scheduled court appearance is June 9.