87 protesters arrested at Kentucky attorney general's home

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By REBECCA REYNOLDS YONKER and DYLAN LOVAN

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Eighty-seven demonstrators who gathered at the home of Kentucky’s attorney general to demand justice for Breonna Taylor have been arrested and charged with a felony for trying to “intimidate” the prosecutor, police said.

Protesters with the social justice organization Until Freedom gathered for a sit-in on the front yard of a Louisville home owned by Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron on Tuesday afternoon, news outlets reported.

They were arrested after refusing to leave and — having been instructed beforehand by protest organizers not to resist — could be seen lining up to await their transfer to jail.

Among those arrested were NFL player Kenny Stills, a wide receiver for the Houston Texans, and Porsha Williams of “Real Housewives of Atlanta.” Several of the protesters were released from jail on Wednesday afternoon.



In this image from video, a Louisville Metro Police Department office stands guard outside the home of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron as protestors sit in his front yard in Louisville, Kentucky Tuesday, July 14, 2020. About two dozen protestors were arrested. Protesters were chanting Breonna Taylor's name as well as calling for justice after the 26-year-old emergency room technician was fatally shot by LMPD in her South End Apartment while police were serving a search warrant. Cameron said he still has no timeline for when his office will conclude its investigation of the case. (Mary Ann Gerth/Courier Journal via AP)


Read more: https://apnews.com/3d229d68707ee890033f928748228b0e

[riversedge]

1. whow. says they were charged with a felony.

[pazzyanne]

2. Question?

How can an act of free speech be a felony? Isn't that a violation of Constitutional rights?

Maybe trespassing?

" Criminal trespass is most often a misdemeanor, though it can be prosecuted as a felony, especially if the trespass results in damage to persons or property."

No mention of property damage in the article.

[denvine]

3. "Intimidate"???

They can be arrested for attempting to 'intimidate" but armed militias wielding their assault rifles are not attempting to intimidate?????? We certainly have a double standard going on.

[Jedi Guy]

6. Just a guess, but...

I imagine if armed militias showed up at an elected official's home and were on his/her property, they'd be arrested. I suspect the reaction has zero to do with whether or not they were armed, and everything to do with where they were.

Your First Amendment rights don't allow you to protest on someone else's private property, and from the picture, it appears they're in the yard of the house in question. I'm okay with them being arrested. Protest on the sidewalk next time.

[Happy Hoosier]

8. Then charge them with trespass.

But intimidation of a prosecutor? That will be laughed out of the court.

[Bayard]

4. Another rethuglican idiot

He's in on the lawsuit against Governor Beshear's ban on out-of-state travel, and on big gatherings, like in churches.

[ManiacJoe]

5. It is good to see that they kept

the "civil" part of civil disobedience.

[TomCADem]

7. Anti-vaccine activists, mask opponents target public health officials -- at their homes

Of course, when pro-Trump protesters have targetted civil servant public health officials, they are rarely arrested even when they have made death threats toward such officials.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-18/anti-mask-protesters-target-county-health-officers

For months, anti-vaccine activists have joined protests against coronavirus restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of infection. Now this unusual alliance is taking direct aim at the county officials issuing these orders.

On Sunday and then Tuesday, they livestreamed protests against Farnitano, which came days after Orange County’s chief health officer resigned amid intense pushback against her countywide mask order and threats against her that prompted a security detail.

Online, mask protesters say their calls for similar rallies outside the homes of public health officers are gaining traction. For many, it’s raising alarms. Calling the protests an act of intimidation, Kat DeBurgh of the Health Officers Assn. of California said she’s worried. Seven local health officials have announced they are leaving their posts, some of which were previously planned retirements, DeBurgh said.

“I would not be surprised if there were more,” she said. “They are working 80 hours a week during the pandemic and then you have threatening public comments. I’m worried about the long-term health consequences in California by losing our most experienced public health professionals.”