They charged a cop with a felony for stopping a riot. I am not making this up.

They want to lock him away for using non-lethal bean bag rounds against a violent mob that was blocking an interstate highway, hurling rocks at officers, and bringing Molotov cocktails to the party.

I have seen a lot in my years in law enforcement. I have seen politics poison the justice system. But what is being done to Officer Jeffrey Teng of Austin, Texas is one of the most shameless, stomach-turning betrayals of law enforcement I have ever witnessed.

It has to stop — and I need your help to stop it.

It was Memorial Day weekend, 2020. Hundreds of protesters flooded the streets of Austin. What started as a demonstration turned into three days of chaos: buildings looted, police vehicles set on fire, a rioter caught with a Molotov cocktail before he could throw it. It took nearly Austin's entire 2,100-officer police force to keep the city from total collapse.

On May 31st, a mob completely shut down I-35 — a major interstate highway — directly in front of police headquarters. Ambulances couldn't get through. Officers gave verbal orders to disperse. A police helicopter broadcast commands over a loudspeaker. The rioters refused.

Officer Jeffrey Teng and his partner were ordered in to clear the highway.

When they arrived, the mob started throwing rocks. One of those rocks struck Officer Teng's partner square in the chest. Under attack, outnumbered, doing their jobs — Teng and his fellow officers deployed non-lethal rounds to stop the violence.

That's it. That's the "crime."

Now Jeffrey Teng, along with 4 other Austin police officers, faces felony charges. Meanwhile, District Attorney José Garza has dismissed nearly every charge against the actual rioters. The people who threw rocks, set cars on fire, and shut down a highway walk free. The officers who stopped them are being prosecuted.

This is a political vendetta by a DA who has made it his mission to destroy the men and women who keep order in our streets.

And Jeff Teng is paying the price. His career is on hold. His future is uncertain. His trial has been delayed again and again — meaning this family has been living under this cloud for years with no end in sight.

The National Center for Police Defense is standing with Jeff and his family — funding his legal defense and providing support while this ordeal drags on. But we cannot do it without you.

I'm asking you to donate today . $25. $50. $100. Whatever you can. Your gift goes to Jeff's defense and to supporting his family through this nightmare.

The radical left is counting on your silence. They want you to think this is just one officer, one city, one story. It isn't. If they can prosecute 20+ officers for stopping a riot with non-lethal force, no officer anywhere is safe.

Jeff Teng showed up. He held the line. He protected his partner, his city, and the rule of law — with every tool he was authorized to use. The least we can do is show up for him.

Don't look away. Share this with every law enforcement supporter you know. And please, give what you can today.

For Jeff. For every officer they're coming after next.

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