A
few
weeks
ago,
former
fifth-year
associate
went
on
LinkedIn
and
accused
Covington
of
racial
harassment.
Now,
he
appears
in
an
Instagram
video
detained
by
law
enforcement
as
part
of
Trump’s
D.C.
takeover.
Paul
Bryant
claimed
that
a
partner
in
the
D.C.
office
called
him
a
racial
slur
as
part
of
a
campaign
to
convince
him
to
quit
after
he
informed
the
firm
that
he
would
no
longer
work
on
SEC
disclosures
for
“anti-minority
and
anti-women
based
initiatives.”
Which,
to
be
honest,
have
almost
certainly
seen
an
uptick
since
the
White
House
started
threatening
ESG
initiatives
with
legal
action
and
businesses
decided
that
retrograde
policies
might
garner
some
goodwill
with
the
administration.
Covington
denied
the
racial
harassment
ever
happened,
while
Bryant
sought
a
$30
million
settlement
in
now-deleted
social
media
posts.
In
those
posts,
he
also
put
his
faith
in
Donald
Trump,
stating
“I
will
solicit
the
help
of
the
President,
Donald
J.
Trump
to
strike
an
adequate
deal
with
Covington…
It
is
actually
my
faith
that
the
Commander-In-Chief
will
hear
of
this
story
and
provide
the
leverage
I
need
to
effect
needed
change
in
your
system,
a
system
which
the
President
has
rightfully
began
to
investigate.”
As
the
rambling,
bloated
impetus
of
the
very
anti-minority
and
anti-women
based
initiatives
at
issue,
Trump
was
a
curious
choice
as
a
potential
savior.
Now,
Bryant
might
be
prepared
to
recognize
that
Trump
may
actually
be
responsible
for
all
this.
The
video
shows
Bryant
declaring
that
he
intends
to
press
charges
against
the
officers
holding
him.
The
video
cuts
in
after
he’s
already
being
held,
so
we
only
have
his
account
of
the
matter,
which
is
that
he
was
walking
down
the
street
when
roughly
20
cops/feds/troops/etc.
stopped
him.
While
he
states
that
the
police
wouldn’t
explain
the
potential
charges,
the
video
suggests
they
were
trying
for
some
sort
of
gun
charge,
because
Bryant
explains
for
the
record
that
his
magazine
is
in
the
trunk
of
his
car.
As
a
former
Army
officer,
he
understands
how
to
responsibly
handle
firearms,
and
as
a
lawyer
he
understands
the
significance
of
making
sure
his
ammunition
is
locked
away
from
his
weapon.
We
already
know
the
D.C.
surge
is
playing
fast
and
loose
with
the
constitutionality
of
gun
searches
right
now.
Based
solely
on
this
video,
Bryant
looks
to
have
been
swept
up
in
that
trend.
“This
is
what
calling
out
a
failed
system
looks
like,”
Bryant
says
in
the
clip.
Whether
or
not
it’s
what
“calling
it
out”
looks
like,
this
is
exactly
what
a
failed
system
looks
like.
A
former
Army
officer
and
Columbia-trained
attorney
who,
regardless
of
the
specific
allegations
against
Covington,
felt
genuinely
unable
to
ethically
perform
his
job
because
of
an
intimidation
campaign
being
either
waged
upon
or
smugly
acquiesced
to
by
corporate
America.
Unable
to
continue
in
Biglaw,
now
he’s
being
swarmed
by
an
occupying
force
—
who
are
actively
concealing
their
identities
per
the
video
—
patrolling
the
streets
over
what
seems
to
be
a
gun
charge
sent
by
a
political
movement
that
prides
itself
on
fighting
against
any
and
all
gun
regulations!
The
lax
access
to
guns
being,
of
course,
the
reason
D.C.
got
so
dangerous
in
the
first
place.
Just
a
vicious
cycle
of
policy
failure
designed
to
break
people.
Bryant
says
in
the
video
that
he
plans
to
press
charges
for
the
violation
of
his
civil
rights.
Earlier:
Former
Biglaw
Associate
Alleges
Partner
Used
Racial
Slur
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
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Managing
Director
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Executive
Search.