Will threat of federal charges deter out-of-state rioters?
Insight from former federal prosecutor Francey Hakes.
The violent rioters that left at least three dead, dozens injured, hundreds arrested and buildings and businesses in charred ruins should be prosecuted as foreign terrorists, former federal prosecutor Francey Hakes said Sunday.
"There is really not much difference between foreign terrorists and domestic terrorists," Hakes told "Fox & Friends."
"It is just a matter of where they’re from. Their actions are equally repugnant and equally criminal," she added, "and they should be treated just the same."
Protests over the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man who died after Minneapolis cop, Derek Chauvin was seen kneeling on his neck in a viral video, turned increasingly violent, culminating in a weekend of carnage.
GEORGE FLOYD DEATH: THE CITIES WHERE PEOPLE ARE PROTESTING AND RIOTING
On Sunday, President Trump blamed Antifa for the escalation, announcing the government's designation of the far-left group as a domestic terrorist organization.
"Someone needs to be prosecuted," Hakes said. "This is taking the murder of George Floyd and exploiting it for purposes that I don’t think anyone really thinks are helpful in this entire debate and discussion. In fact, these people are simply looting and destroying property."
Hakes explained that while prosecutions are critical in de-escalating the continued violence, officials might run into a roadblock when linking individuals to specific crimes due to the masks and face coverings worn by many protesters as a protection against the coronavirus.
"Proof in of itself is going to be difficult in these cases but assuming you can find the proof, you then have to convince a jury of 12 people, their peers, [that] what they did was criminal and that it was serious," Hakes explained.
"They should be held accountable," she added. "You have to hope judges actually impose a serious sentence. I think swift justice, sure justice and firm justice here might dissuade people from acting in this way in the future," Hakes said, adding, "I sure hope so."
Fox News' Griff Jenkins and Talia Kaplan contributed to this report.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox