In the chaos, cell doors were flung open, freeing the rapists and abusers she had helped send to prison.

One of Nixon’s abiding principles came from the case of Alger Hiss, the Soviet spy he helped send to prison for perjury: “It was the coverup that hurt, not the fact that Hiss was guilty. Get my point?” he told his aide Charles Colson.

County prosecutor’s office, where the new district attorney, George Gascón, has vowed to reduce the number of people his deputies send to prison, and for how long.

One of those detained in Moscow held a placard saying: “Today they send to prison for pictures, tomorrow they will send to prison for letters? Freedom for Julia Tsvetkova!”

Counties would get their state funding regardless of how many people they send to prison, it noted.