kentucky – The Philadelphia Observer

All charges dropped in Kentucky lawmaker’s rioting case

Juan Ignacio — Sun, 29 Nov 2020 22:00:28 +0000

State Rep. Attica Scott helped enact “Breonna’s Law,” which will ban no-knock warrants in Kentucky.

Charges brought against protestors seeking justice for Breonna Taylor in Kentucky have been dropped.

State Rep. Attica Scott took to Twitter on Monday to announce that the felony and misdemeanor charges against her and other protestors who were rallying for justice for Taylor are dropped.

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“ALL CHARGES HAVE JUST BEEN DROPPED! Thank you to all of our justice seekers, people who called, emailed and tagged the County Attorney on social media. You got it done! Our work continues as we seek justice for Breonna Taylor.”

Scott represents Kentucky’s District 41. The day after she was arrested, she toldWLKY News, “They (LMPD) claimed we were trying to burn down the library which doesn’t make sense because I’ve been fighting for more funding for the libraries and the library is in my district. So, why would I try to burn it down? Makes no sense.”

Scott and 18 others were taken into custody after it was announced that the grand jury would only charge former LMPD officer Brett Hankinson in the Taylor case and only with wanton endangerment for putting her neighbors at risk. Hankinson was fired by the department in June.

Taylor, an EMT, was killed in a no-knock raid at her Louisville apartment building when her boyfriend Kenneth Walker fired on police believing they were intruders. Walker, a legal gun owner, was arrested but ultimately released without being charged.

Source: All charges dropped in Kentucky lawmaker’s rioting case

Protests erupted across the US this weekend as demands for racial justice grow

Juan Ignacio — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 11:38:38 +0000

(CNN)Protests flared up across the country this weekend, two months after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis catalyzed a nationwide reckoning over race and policing.

From Portland to Seattle to Louisville, Kentucky, protesters took to the streets, as the nation honored the life of civil rights hero John Lewis.

Some protests were largely peaceful. Others descended into clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators.

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Here’s a break down of the unrest.

Portland was already brimming with tension before the weekend.

Protests there took center stage this month after President Donald Trump sent federal agents to the city to protect federal property — a move that angered local demonstrators, who view it as an occupation of their city.

Demonstrations Friday night began peacefully, according to the Portland Police Bureau, which said a crowd gathered outside the federal courthouse to listen to speakers.

Demonstrators march during a Black Lives Matter protest Friday, July 24, 2020, in Portland, Oregon.

Around 11 p.m., people began shaking a fence while others shot fireworks over it, police said. A large group of peaceful protesters appeared to approach the group rocking the fence and tried to de-escalate the tension, according to a CNN team on the scene.

Police “attempted to disperse the crowd using various munitions,” the PPB said in a statement. According to police, members of the crowd had gas masks, shields, leaf blowers, power tools, fireworks and lasers.

Federal agents deployed tear gas and flash bangs from behind the fence, set up as a barricade between the protesters and the Multnomah County Justice Center, across the street from the federal courthouse, the CNN team reported. Right before agents released the gas, a crowd of peaceful protesters had been chanting “Black Lives Matter.”

Source: Protests erupted across the US this weekend as demands for racial justice grow