As cases of the novel coronavirus continue to rise in some parts of the country—particularly in states like Florida, Texas, and Arizona—much mainstream media coverage has shifted back to covering the pandemic and not protests. As we know, however, protests against police brutality and for racial justice have continued across the nation. As is the recent case in Kentucky, for example, an estimated 200 people protested for justice for Breonna Taylor on the lawn of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Eighty-seven of those people are now facing a felony charge of intimidating a participant in a legal process, according to police, as reported by CBS News. According to NBC News, people are also facing disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing charges, which are misdemeanors.
As some background, Taylor, a 26-year old Black woman, was shot and killed by plainclothes officers when they entered her home in mid-March. Taylor, who worked as an EMT, was killed by police while literally asleep in her bed. Officers entered the apartment she shared with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, using a “no-knock” warrant. As we later learned, the person police were actually in pursuit of didn’t live in Taylor’s home and was already in police custody.
Since then, a 911 call from Walker on the night of the shooting seems to back up his claim that the police did not identify themselves upon entering the apartment. Louisville police released an incident report from that night that was “almost entirely blank.” A complaint that seems to tie the raid to a gentrification plan has also caught attention, as brought up by attorneys for Taylor’s family.
Out of the three officers involved in the shooting, only one has been fired. The other two were put on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. Protesters want the officers to face charges.
In a statement, Sgt. Lamont Washington of the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) said: “All were given the opportunity to leave, were told that remaining on the property would be unlawful, and chose not to leave." As reported by local outlet WKMS, demonstrators were on the lawn for less than one hour before police arrived. Arrests included reality TV star Porscha Williams (of the Real Housewives of Atlanta series), as reported by CNN, as well as NFL athlete Kenny Stills, who plays for the Houston Texans, as reported by local outlet WAVE.
The police statement continues: "Due to their refusal to leave the property and their attempts to influence the decision of the Attorney General with their actions, each person was charged with Intimidating a Participant in a Legal Process (Class D felony), Disorderly Conduct 2nd Degree (Class B misdemeanor), and Criminal Trespass 3rd Degree. (Violation)." Demonstrators who were arrested were reportedly arrested without incident.
The ACLU of Kentucky tweeted about the felony charges.
As reported by The Washington Post, according to Kentucky’s sentencing guidelines, if convicted, demonstrators could face up to five years in prison.
You can watch clips from the protest and arrests below, courtesy of NBC News via YouTube.
As an update, as Steve Singiser pointed out on Twitter, the felony charges are in especially sharp contrast to how the hanging in effigy of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear from a tree outside of the state Capitol building was handled. A fence will now go up around the governor’s mansion. Protesters who wanted the governor to reopen Kentucky have also interrupted his coronavirus briefings by chanting outside.