Left: Ed Martin speaks at an event hosted by then-Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades) Right: Emily Gabriella Sommer (court documents)
The Department of Justice claimed in a Thursday court filing that the woman accused of spitting on former interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin has violated her release conditions by continuing to target Martin in follow-up comments.
Arrested on May 22, Emily Gabriella Sommer was charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding a government official. The charges arose from a May 8 incident in which Martin, who now serves as the DOJ’s pardon attorney, was being interviewed by a Newsmax reporter when a person spat on him and shouted, “F– you.”
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That person allegedly identified herself as Sommer, saying, “My name is Emily Gabriella Sommer, and you are served,” according to an affidavit from a deputy U.S. marshal. DOJ lawyers also found an X account with the username “@EmilyGabriellaS” that had made several identical posts about the confrontation, reading: “ED, that was me that spit in your face today” and calling the action a “pleasure.” Furthermore, when Sommer was arrested, she spit on one deputy U.S. marshal and kicked another, according to the DOJ.
Sommer was released by U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh after her initial appearance in court, but her conditions of release included that she “avoid all contact, directly or indirectly, with any person who is or may be a victim or witness in the investigation or prosecution,” including Martin.
The DOJ is arguing that she broke her conditions of release and should thus be jailed before her trial because of the following actions:
The X account linked to Sommer posted on June 3, “Quite actually urgent request for assistance of any and all types. My property has essentially been seized and I do not have the basic necessities nor money to provide for myself nor my dog. F– you, Ed …”
“[B]ut since you’ve once again made me hostage in this city, I’ll make sure it eats you alive and spits you back out, like the felony ‘assault’ you’ve alleged,” the post continued before a subsequent one tagged Martin’s personal account and wrote: “you mad, bro? You got fired, and then caught a loogie to the shoulder. I don’t think that makes you any sort of ‘active’ official.”
The poster proceeded to call him a “stumbling bumbling alcoholic” and attack his intelligence. “Come at me dawg, let’s have a debate,” they added.
The final post in the thread tagged Martin’s replacement as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro of Fox News, mocking Martin for losing out to her.
“And she’s got so much trash talk comin her way too,” the account wrote, vowing: “you’ll get it too.”
The DOJ, in its Thursday filing, pointed out how Sharbaugh’s order setting conditions of release stated: “Violating any of the foregoing conditions of release may result in the immediate issuance of a warrant for your arrest, a revocation of your release, an order of detention, a forfeiture of any bond, and a prosecution for contempt of court and could result in imprisonment, a fine, or both.” The Justice Department suggested they may file additional assault charges and even a stalking charge against her.
Martin has been criticized by many legal advocates for his past actions and comments, including insinuating that the 2020 election was stolen, firing prosecutors and FBI investigators who worked on Jan. 6 riot cases, and, most recently, suggesting two men convicted of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer could be pardoned.
More than 100 former prosecutors voiced their opposition to Martin’s nomination to be the permanent U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia in April in a blistering letter, calling him an “egregiously unqualified political hack who has never served either as a prosecutor or judge.”
On May 8, the same day that someone spit on Martin during the interview outside the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump pulled Martin’s nomination, likely seeing he did not have the necessary support to be confirmed by the Senate. In addition to being pardon attorney, Martin now serves as director of the DOJ’s so-called “Weaponization Working Group.”
