A former prosecutor with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office in Arizona has had her law license suspended after a panel with the state bar determined that she showed "a disturbing pattern of excessive charging" in the cases of some protestors, at least one of whom was an "innocent man."

On Tuesday, the State Bar of Arizona issued the decision to suspend the license of April Sponsel for two years after a thorough investigation into some of Sponsel's work in 2020 uncovered seemingly zealous attempts to overcharge defendants deemed to be anti-police.

Most of the accusations against Sponsel related to a BLM protest that occurred in Phoenix on October 17, 2020. Like many BLM protests that year, people showed up in black, attempted to conceal their identities with umbrellas, and tried to disrupt traffic. They also chanted well-known phrases such as "black lives matter," "no justice, no peace," and "no KKK, no fascist USA."

Among this group, 15 people were arrested, including Ryder Collins, a nurse from out of town who happened upon the group by chance while taking photographs in the area. The decision signed by presiding Judge Margaret Downie repeatedly referred to Collins as "innocent," citing both statements from witnesses and body-cam evidence.

Even with the exculpatory evidence, Sponsel tried to strong-arm Collins, a political conservative who considers himself "very pro-police," into copping to rioting and assisting a criminal street gang, both felonies. "Ms. Sponsel may not have intended to indict an innocent man. But the evidence establishes that she did so," Downie wrote.

When challenged with overwhelming evidence that had erroneously charged Collins, Sponsel still refused to admit wrongdoing — and offered a ludicrous defense for her actions. "People can be out there taking pictures of the sunset and then go home and murder their spouse," she said at a disciplinary hearing two months ago. "Does that necessarily mean that they’re innocent of murdering their spouse because they said they were taking pictures of the sunset earlier in the day? No."

What's more, Sponsel decided to charge all 15 defendants arrested in connection with the protest, including Collins, with belonging to a gang called ACAB — a gang Sponsel and several members of area law enforcement seem to have made up.

The defendants did chant the phrase "all cops are bastards," or ACAB for short, but there is no indication that they referred to themselves as members of a group called ACAB or that they had participated in gang activity. There's even little evidence that they knew one another prior to the protest.

Ryan Green, a prosecutor with experience handling gang cases, noted many holes in Sponsel's prosecutorial approach and brought them to her attention within weeks of the protest.

"During their 'march' in October, did any of them have signs? Shout slogans? What are the devices thrown at police? Smoke bombs vs. explosives? Any of them have prior felony convictions? If so, what for? What are the tattoos that they have gotten? Do we have photos of their tattoos?" Green asked among other questions.

A few months later, Green asked more questions, expressing concern that felony gang charges may have been inappropriate in this case. The following are a handful of questions Green posed to Sponsel:

• "Is there a witness who can identify at least 2 or more of these specific defendants having previously associated with one another prior to October 17th? If so, which defendants?"
• "What is the evidence and which witnesses can testify that the charged defendants previously planned events with their fellow co-defendants?"
• "Do we have any captured electronic communications between these specific arrestees prior to October 17th?"

Despite the fact that there was little evidence to support the existence of an ACAB gang, Sponsel moved forward with the gang charges, lumping the defendants together as a gang for the sake of "efficiency," the bar's decision indicated. She even suggested to a grand jury that this so-called ACAB gang was akin to notorious gangs like the Bloods, Crips, and Hells Angels.

Sponsel, who is married to an officer with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, was described in the bar's decision as "very pro-law enforcement," and County Attorney Rachel Mitchell indicated that Sponsel's "ardent" support for police may have clouded her judgment in this case.

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office ultimately decided to drop all the charges against the 15 defendants in connection with the protest and placed Sponsel on administrative leave in March 2021. She was officially terminated by MCAO in June 2022 after refusing multiple settlement offers.

While Sponsel's law license will be suspended for two years effective next February, she will not necessarily get it back once the two years have expired. She will have to reapply and "prove she's been rehabilitated," ABC 15 Arizona reported.

It is unclear whether Sponsel intends to appeal the bar's decision. Her attorney told ABC15 Arizona, "The process is ongoing so it’s premature to comment."

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