State Rep. Attica Scott, her daughter Ashanti, Shameka Parrish-Wright, and 14 others went to court today on two misdemeanor charges each, only to learn that all charges had been dropped by the office of County Attorney Mike O’Connell.
Felony charges of first-degree rioting that stemmed from the same arrests were dropped in October. The misdemeanor charges against one other person will be dropped next week.
All charges against the 18 people came at the end of a night of protests in Louisville in September about the killing of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police. The protesters were arrested as they headed toward a “sanctuary location” at First Unitarian Church.
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New KDP chair issues statement on dropping of charges
The following is a statement from Colmon Elridge, chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party:
“I am happy to see that the erroneous charges against Rep. Attica Scott and others arrested have been dropped. The protests in Louisville and around the country, in honor of Breonna Taylor, and a too-long list of Black and Brown people who have been killed during altercations with law enforcement, speak to the hurt and pain of centuries of a fear for our lives that no American, or human being, should have to bear. As a father of three biracial boys, who the world will see as Black, these fights are personal and Rep. Scott taking them on has meant more to me than I can convey. But Attica Scott cannot do it alone, nor is this the fight solely of the oppressed. The fight to bend the moral arc of the universe towards justice must be one that all people of goodwill take on. If America is to truly be great, freedom and justice for all must mean All, and we must acknowledge that black lives matter is not merely a movement, but a statement for the dignity our humanity deserves and has been too long denied.”
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