More than 80 people were arrested while protesting outside a Louisville home owned by Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron Tuesday night, several media outlets reported.
The 87 demonstrators who were arrested had gathered on the lawn of the home in the Graymoor-Devondale neighborhood to call for action in the Breonna Taylor case, WDRB reported.
The gathering was organized in part by the national Until Freedom organization, according to WAVE3 News in Louisville.
Until Freedom shared live video on its Facebook page showing protesters marching and later seated in rows with arms linked on the lawn of the single-story home.
A co-founder of the group, Linda Sarsour, who was among those arrested, told the Courier-Journal, “We are here to hold Daniel Cameron accountable and make sure that he does his job, because he is not doing his job.”
Also among the 87 arrested are several well-known public figures, including Houston Texans wide receiver Kenny Stills, Real Housewives of Atlanta reality star Porsha Williams, entertainer Yandy Smith and rappers Trae Thompson, Cordae and Mysonne.
Many of these celebrities took to social media after their arrests, calling their followers and peers to use their voices to get justice for Breonna Taylor.
Cameron’s office and the FBI have both been investigating the shooting death of Taylor, a 26-year-old Louisville emergency room technician who was killed by police who were serving a no-knock warrant at her home March 13. Use of the warrants has since been prohibited in Louisville.
Officer Brett Hankinson has been fired, but two other officers involved in the shooting, officer Myles Cosgrove and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, are still employed by the Louisville Metro Police Department. Protesters have been calling for criminal charges against the officers.
Cameron issued a statement Tuesday night, saying “a thorough and fair investigation” is being conducted.
“The stated goal of today’s protest at my home was to ‘escalate.’ That is not acceptable and only serves to further division and tension within our community,” he said in the statement shared by several media outlets. “Justice is not achieved by trespassing on private property, and it’s not achieved through escalation. It’s achieved by examining the facts in an impartial and unbiased manner. That is exactly what we are doing and will continue to do in this investigation.”
WLKY reported that police warned the protesters to leave, and those who refused were charged with intimidating a participant in a legal process, second-degree disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing.
On Friday, the Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell said he would drop the felony charges of intimidating a participant in a legal process that had been filed against protesters.
No Justice NO Peace
Posted by Until Freedom on Tuesday, July 14, 2020
This story was originally published July 14, 2020 11:13 PM.
