The majority of demonstrators apprehended after a march on the Roebling Bridge in mid-July will no longer face felony allegations for their involvement in the protest. However, after a preliminary altercation on Wednesday, four out of fifteen arrested individuals continue to confront more severe claims. This hearing was conducted under the supervision of Kenton County District Judge Kenneth L. Easterling.
Some demonstrators recognized themselves guilty of minor offenses relating to failing to disperse during the protest. Consequently, their felony riot charges got dismissed. This dismissal was served with prejudice, implying the prosecution can no longer refile the same charges against these individuals. They received credit for their time spent incarcerated and were fined a total of $169.
Still potentially facing felony allegations for rioting is protestor Ameer Alkayali. During the trial, an officer offered testimony stating that Alkayali undertook actions to interfere with another arrest being carried out. ‘The actions are not identical to those who merely faced dispersal charges,’ purported Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney Rob Sanders.
Two other individuals remaining in the face of felony charges are Logan Imber and Taylor Marshall. They are being accused of physically meddling in the detention of another demonstrator, Brandon Hill. Hill himself is still under the scrutiny of felony riot charges. These substantial charges are consequential to accusations alleging that Hill adopted a confrontational posture towards an officer during the protest.
According to law enforcement officers present at the scene, Hill allegedly reached out toward the officer’s non-lethal firearm. A patrolling officer from the Covington Police Department later testified that Hill had been seen making movements into a bag he was carrying, leading the officer to believe it may have contained a firearm.
Surveillance footage related to Hill’s apprehension allegedly reveals Covington Police Officer, Zachary Stayton, engaging in physically assaulting Hill during his arrest. This reported assault includes numerous blows after Hill was already subdued. In relation to these circumstances, Hill’s legal counsel pressed for the video evidence to be shown during the Wednesday trial.
However, the request to bring the video evidence into the preliminary proceedings was opposed by Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney Rob Sanders, who argued that such measures were unusual at this stage. Judge Easterling seconded the attorney’s contention, thereby disallowing the footage from being played. He clarified that this hearing aims merely to establish a probable cause for the indictments.
Judge Easterling dismissed the need for video evidence, stating, ‘A testimonial from the officer is ample.’ As context, this march was a form of dissent against the arrest of Imam Ayman Soliman, an Egyptian immigrant and former spiritual adviser at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Imam Soliman’s detainment took place on July 9, following the revocation of his asylum rights. The protest march was a subsequent series of events, initiated after a vigil for Soliman at The Banks in Cincinnati. The vigil was arranged by multiple organizations including Ignite Peace, Ohio Poor People’s Campaign, SURJ Cincinnati, and other regional faith leaders.
Speeches advocating for Soliman were followed by an impromptu march, comprising dozens of participants, along the southern lane of the Roebling Bridge around 8 p.m. It’s noteworthy that the march did not carry the sanction of the vigil’s coordinating entities, as admitted by the protestors.
Almost as soon as the march began, it was fraught with conflicts. A slew of unsettling incidents were reported, which included an unidentified man in a dark vehicle beaming aggressive gestures and shouts at the demonstrators near the roundabout before the bridge on Cincinnati’s end.
Another escalating incident involved a dark-colored SUV navigating close to the parade marshals donning fluorescent vests while the protest continued on the bridge. The marshals made efforts to deter the vehicle from approaching the major section of the marchers, albeit with little success as the SUV kept edging forward steadily.
After this inconclusive blockade, the SUV managed to overtake the demonstrators. As the marching continued towards the southern lane of the bridge, Covington Police and affiliate law-enforcement bodies in Northern Kentucky imposed a blockade near the mid-section of the bridge.
The police instructed the marchers to vacate the road and assemble onto the pedestrian pathways flanking the sides of the bridge. Shortly thereafter, the tenure of the Covington police moved from instructive to action, as they started to apprehend the protestors.
A part of their strategy involved deploying non-lethal munitions known as pepper balls and employing Tasers to control the situation. Following these unfolding events, Defense attorney Benjamin Pugh asserted that three of the detained individuals had to seek medical attention at a hospital due to their sustained injuries.
This group included Brandon Hill, who had notable involvement and confrontations throughout the march and subsequent apprehensions.
The post Felony Allegations Dropped for Majority of Roebling Bridge Protestors appeared first on Real News Now.
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