Washington, D.C. – The Justice Department’s effort to convict an alleged MS‑13 mastermind has stumbled twice in the nation’s capital. In March 2025, the Trump administration welcomed Moises Rivera‑Luna, accused of ordering murders from a Salvadoran jail cell, to a federal courtroom. The first trial in December 2025 ended in a hung jury, and a second trial in April 2026 reached the same deadlock.
Jury impasse fuels broader concerns
Judge Royce Lamberth, a veteran of nearly four decades on the bench, described the situation as unprecedented in his career. Both juries were unable to agree on a verdict despite what prosecutors said were clear evidentiary recordings of Rivera‑Luna directing gang activity. The judge noted that one juror appeared to dominate deliberations, leading to accusations of bullying among the panel.
The case has become emblematic of a larger trend in the District’s federal court. Since January, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. has secured convictions in only four of eight federal cases tried before local juries. Since the April mistrial, the office has taken on nearly a dozen additional criminal trials, resulting in two acquittals and four more deadlocked juries.
Legal community weighs in
Federal prosecutors typically achieve a conviction rate of about 90% nationwide, according to judiciary statistics. Several Washington legal experts suggest that the DC juries may be scrutinizing the Justice Department’s cases more closely, rather than acting out of partisan bias. “This is not a political case. I think this is a failure of proof and a stubbornness born of desperation on the part of the prosecutors’ office,” said Robert Feitel, one of the defense attorneys.
Others point to the demographic makeup of the juries. Defense attorney Christopher Davis noted that DC jurors tend to be highly educated and left‑leaning, which can affect deliberations in cases involving violent crime and organized gangs.
Details of the MS‑13 prosecution
Prosecutors allege that Rivera‑Luna, known within the gang as “Viejo Santos,” orchestrated a series of murders and assaults between 2008 and 2010. Audio recordings presented at trial captured Rivera‑Luna, from a Latin American prison, telling a contact in the D.C. area, “You have 13 days to eat chicken,” which prosecutors interpreted as a coded order to kill.
The co‑defendant, Tokiro Rodas Ramirez, was arrested in Honduras in 2022 and brought to the United States. Court records list his gang nickname as “Perverso.” Both men were described in court as calm and cooperative, with Rivera‑Luna wearing glasses and speaking Spanish through an interpreter.
Implications for future prosecutions
The repeated mistrials strain an office already stretched by staff turnover following the Trump administration’s firings and departures. Legal observers fear the pattern could jeopardize upcoming high‑profile cases, including the upcoming trial of an alleged conspirator in the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 bombing.
For now, the Justice Department must decide whether to pursue a third trial of Rivera‑Luna or seek alternative resolutions. The outcome will likely influence how federal prosecutors approach complex gang conspiracies in the nation’s capital moving forward.
Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
