Felony Charges Dropped for 87 Protesters Arrested at Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's Home
Billy Kobin
Kala Kachmar
Louisville Courier Journal
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell said Friday he is dismissing the felony charge that the 87 protesters arrested this week outside of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's home were facing.
Louisville Metro Police arrested protesters during the Tuesday afternoon demonstration outside of Cameron's Louisville home and charged them with intimidating a participant in the legal process, a Class D felony that is punishable by one to five years in prison.
The protesters also were charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, which are misdemeanors and violations with less-severe penalties.
"While we do believe the LMPD had probable cause for the charge, in the interest of justice and the promotion of the free exchange of ideas, we will dismiss that charge for each protester arrested this past Tuesday," O'Connell said Friday in a statement.
"We continue to review the misdemeanors and violations for prosecution at a later date. Pursuant to KRS 431.076, our office will assist the protesters in expunging the felony charge from their record thirty (30) days after the dismissal."
LMPD Spokeswoman Jessie Halladay said in a statement Friday they respect O'Connell's decision and appreciate that they agreed officers had probable cause for the felony charge.
However, ahead of O'Connell's announcement, several former prosecutors said the 87 protesters LMPD arrested were "overcharged" with a felony that doesn't legally apply to the situation — "a stretch," they said.
Celebrities, rappers, civil rights leaders:Who was arrested during protest at Daniel Cameron's home?
“I’ve never seen anyone charged with a felony for this type of behavior," said Leland Hulbert, a former assistant Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney who lead the office's first violent crime division. "It's somewhat unheard of."
Police explained the felony charge stemmed from protesters chanting "burn it down," as well as intel from commanders monitoring social media and intel commanders monitoring protests from social media heard protesters "state" their intent to "escalate" their actions.
Commanders monitoring protests from social media — before protesters arrived at Cameron's house — heard it was the intent of the protest to "escalate" their actions, which in the past has "indicted violent or destructive behavior," Washington said.
The protest was organized by Until Freedom, a national social justice organization. On Tuesday, the group met at Ballard High School and walked just less than a mile to Cameron's house in support of justice for Breonna Taylor, an unarmed Black woman gunned down by Louisville police in her home on March 13.
The deaths of George Floyd, Taylor and Louisville barbecue owner David McAtee, who was killed by LMPD and the Kentucky National Guard on June 1 in his doorway, has lead to 51 straight days of protests in the city.
It's up to Cameron to decide whether to criminally charge the officers involved in Taylor's death: Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and officers Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove. During a press conference Monday, Cameron said he still has no timeline for when his office will conclude its investigation. He's had the case since May.
Records show Cameron and his fiance purchased the house on July 2, but it's unclear if they're living in it.
The protest
By all accounts, Tuesday's protest was peaceful. It was streamed live on Facebook.
Hulbert, now criminal defense attorney, said in his eight years as a prosecutor he's only seen the interfering charge used in extreme cases of intimidation that involve death threats or threats of gun violence.
"It's one of those stretches that, theoretically, could be manufactured," Hulbert said. "But I've never seen it charged that way — for something so peaceful."
Protesters assembled on Cameron's front lawn Tuesday afternoon wearing matching shirts. At one point, standing and linking arms, they announced that "white bodies" would form a circle around the Black protesters to protect and support them. They spent the latter part of the protest sitting in rows, chanting.
The 87 protesters who opted to stay on Cameron's property after police warned of criminal charges were still seated on the grass before their arrests.
By then, officers were stationed around the outer perimeter of the lawn and immediately in front of the house, essentially surrounding the protesters, according to a stream of the protest.
They were handcuffed, one by one, and walked off the lawn.
Rep. Jason Nemes, a Republican and an attorney who represents parts of Oldham and Jefferson counties, Tweeted on Thursday that the felony charges should be dropped.
"I've spoken against every protest at elected officials' homes that I know of. Whether it is McConnell, Beshear, or Cameron, it is dangerous. But charging a felony w/ no threat is ridiculous & stretches the statute. Prosecute trespassers, but the felony charge should be removed."
Property records show Cameron and his fiance bought the house on July 2, but it's not clear if they're living there.
Charging decision
Thursday morning, two days after the arrests, LMPD spokesman Sgt. Lamont Washington sent a press release explaining why the protesters were charged with the felony.
Commanders monitoring protests from social media — before protesters arrived at Cameron's house — heard it was the intent of the protest to "escalate" their actions, which in the past has "indicted violent or destructive behavior," Washington said.
Protesters were on Cameron's property for at least an hour before officers made arrests, the stream shows.
"When protestors arrived at the home, they entered the yard without consent, searched through his windows, and occupied the street. LMPD personnel confirmed with the Attorney General’s security detail that the protestors were not invited and should be removed," Washington said in the statement.
He also said they were warned if they didn't leave, there would be criminal charges.
LMPD also released two videos — one a clip of video from a police body camera that shows the protesters sitting on the lawn positioned at least 10 feet from the house chanting what police say was "burn it down."
The other appears to be a snippet from a protester who streamed the demonstration on Facebook. The video shows about 30 seconds of protesters chanting while gathered at the high school before the protest at Cameron's.
One chant was "What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now."
Another was "If we don't get it, burn it down."
The 30-second clip LMPD sent out is part of a two-plus hour stream of the event that doesn't indicate any violence or disorderly behavior.
Protesters could be heard in the stream, while sitting on the ground, chanting things like "Say her name, Breonna Taylor," "I don't see a riot here so why are you in riot gear?" and "You can't stop the revolution."
Under Kentucky statutes, a person is guilty of intimidating a participant in the legal process "when, by use of physical force or a threat directed to a person he believes to be a participant in the legal process, he or she" does at least one of several things, such as:
Influences, or attempts to influence, the testimony, vote, decision or opinion of that person.
Induces, or attempts to induce, that person to withhold a record, document or other object from an official proceeding.
Hinders, delays or prevents the communication to a law enforcement officer or judge of information relating to the possible commission of an offense or a violation of conditions of probation, parole or release pending judicial proceedings.
"Force by definition can be actual or implied and is the power, violence or pressure directed against a person. Entry into the ground of another without consent is an example of implied force," Washington said.
Dave Stengel, a 30-year veteran prosecutor and former Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney for 16 years said LMPD overcharged, "pure and simple."
"If this is considered intimidating a participant, my God every time I step out the door someone could be charged," Stengel said, adding that he doesn't recall this charge coming across his desk.
Marc Murphy, a criminal defense attorney representing three protesters and a political cartoonist for The Courier Journal, said it would be "unreasonable and irrational" for anyone in the justice system not to look at the totality of the protest, both in its execution and planning.
"There’s a purpose for this statute. We don’t want witnesses or judges to have guns put to their heads," said Murphy, who is also a former Commonwealth's Attorney. "It's wildly inappropriate that this charge would have been used for what has been, in every regard, a peaceful protest."
Murphy said the group had a pre-meeting in an auditorium during which they were instructed about how the protest would take place.
"There was no evidence that a member of the protest group broke rank. There's no evidence there were any rogue elements," Murphy said.
Constitutional infringements
Murphy said the decision to charge for interfering with the legal process is an abuse of power and a police intimidation tactic.
"It would be difficult for me to believe this wasn’t meant to send a chilling effect as the protests continue," Murphy said. "This has raised the stakes — in the way we get punished for exercising our Constitutional rights."
Stengel said the charge is fraught with all sorts of problems, but the most concerning is the infringement on First Amendment rights.
"People have the right to redress government and peacefully assemble, guaranteed by the Bill of Rights," he said.
LMPD said the charging decision came from "commanders on the ground."
Both Hulbert and Murphy said it's unlikely this type of charge came from the rank-and-file.
“I think there are probably numerous parties involved," Hulbert said. "I think it went up the chain of command. How far up? I don’t know."
Follow Billy Kobin and Kala Kachmar on Twitter: @Billy_Kobin and @NewsQuip.
Kala Kachmar
Louisville Courier Journal
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell said Friday he is dismissing the felony charge that the 87 protesters arrested this week outside of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's home were facing.
Louisville Metro Police arrested protesters during the Tuesday afternoon demonstration outside of Cameron's Louisville home and charged them with intimidating a participant in the legal process, a Class D felony that is punishable by one to five years in prison.
The protesters also were charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, which are misdemeanors and violations with less-severe penalties.
"While we do believe the LMPD had probable cause for the charge, in the interest of justice and the promotion of the free exchange of ideas, we will dismiss that charge for each protester arrested this past Tuesday," O'Connell said Friday in a statement.
"We continue to review the misdemeanors and violations for prosecution at a later date. Pursuant to KRS 431.076, our office will assist the protesters in expunging the felony charge from their record thirty (30) days after the dismissal."
LMPD Spokeswoman Jessie Halladay said in a statement Friday they respect O'Connell's decision and appreciate that they agreed officers had probable cause for the felony charge.
However, ahead of O'Connell's announcement, several former prosecutors said the 87 protesters LMPD arrested were "overcharged" with a felony that doesn't legally apply to the situation — "a stretch," they said.
Celebrities, rappers, civil rights leaders:Who was arrested during protest at Daniel Cameron's home?
“I’ve never seen anyone charged with a felony for this type of behavior," said Leland Hulbert, a former assistant Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney who lead the office's first violent crime division. "It's somewhat unheard of."
Police explained the felony charge stemmed from protesters chanting "burn it down," as well as intel from commanders monitoring social media and intel commanders monitoring protests from social media heard protesters "state" their intent to "escalate" their actions.
Commanders monitoring protests from social media — before protesters arrived at Cameron's house — heard it was the intent of the protest to "escalate" their actions, which in the past has "indicted violent or destructive behavior," Washington said.
The protest was organized by Until Freedom, a national social justice organization. On Tuesday, the group met at Ballard High School and walked just less than a mile to Cameron's house in support of justice for Breonna Taylor, an unarmed Black woman gunned down by Louisville police in her home on March 13.
The deaths of George Floyd, Taylor and Louisville barbecue owner David McAtee, who was killed by LMPD and the Kentucky National Guard on June 1 in his doorway, has lead to 51 straight days of protests in the city.
It's up to Cameron to decide whether to criminally charge the officers involved in Taylor's death: Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and officers Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove. During a press conference Monday, Cameron said he still has no timeline for when his office will conclude its investigation. He's had the case since May.
Records show Cameron and his fiance purchased the house on July 2, but it's unclear if they're living in it.
The protest
By all accounts, Tuesday's protest was peaceful. It was streamed live on Facebook.
Hulbert, now criminal defense attorney, said in his eight years as a prosecutor he's only seen the interfering charge used in extreme cases of intimidation that involve death threats or threats of gun violence.
"It's one of those stretches that, theoretically, could be manufactured," Hulbert said. "But I've never seen it charged that way — for something so peaceful."
Protesters assembled on Cameron's front lawn Tuesday afternoon wearing matching shirts. At one point, standing and linking arms, they announced that "white bodies" would form a circle around the Black protesters to protect and support them. They spent the latter part of the protest sitting in rows, chanting.
The 87 protesters who opted to stay on Cameron's property after police warned of criminal charges were still seated on the grass before their arrests.
By then, officers were stationed around the outer perimeter of the lawn and immediately in front of the house, essentially surrounding the protesters, according to a stream of the protest.
They were handcuffed, one by one, and walked off the lawn.
Rep. Jason Nemes, a Republican and an attorney who represents parts of Oldham and Jefferson counties, Tweeted on Thursday that the felony charges should be dropped.
"I've spoken against every protest at elected officials' homes that I know of. Whether it is McConnell, Beshear, or Cameron, it is dangerous. But charging a felony w/ no threat is ridiculous & stretches the statute. Prosecute trespassers, but the felony charge should be removed."
Property records show Cameron and his fiance bought the house on July 2, but it's not clear if they're living there.
Charging decision
Thursday morning, two days after the arrests, LMPD spokesman Sgt. Lamont Washington sent a press release explaining why the protesters were charged with the felony.
Commanders monitoring protests from social media — before protesters arrived at Cameron's house — heard it was the intent of the protest to "escalate" their actions, which in the past has "indicted violent or destructive behavior," Washington said.
Protesters were on Cameron's property for at least an hour before officers made arrests, the stream shows.
"When protestors arrived at the home, they entered the yard without consent, searched through his windows, and occupied the street. LMPD personnel confirmed with the Attorney General’s security detail that the protestors were not invited and should be removed," Washington said in the statement.
He also said they were warned if they didn't leave, there would be criminal charges.
LMPD also released two videos — one a clip of video from a police body camera that shows the protesters sitting on the lawn positioned at least 10 feet from the house chanting what police say was "burn it down."
The other appears to be a snippet from a protester who streamed the demonstration on Facebook. The video shows about 30 seconds of protesters chanting while gathered at the high school before the protest at Cameron's.
One chant was "What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now."
Another was "If we don't get it, burn it down."
The 30-second clip LMPD sent out is part of a two-plus hour stream of the event that doesn't indicate any violence or disorderly behavior.
Protesters could be heard in the stream, while sitting on the ground, chanting things like "Say her name, Breonna Taylor," "I don't see a riot here so why are you in riot gear?" and "You can't stop the revolution."
Under Kentucky statutes, a person is guilty of intimidating a participant in the legal process "when, by use of physical force or a threat directed to a person he believes to be a participant in the legal process, he or she" does at least one of several things, such as:
Influences, or attempts to influence, the testimony, vote, decision or opinion of that person.
Induces, or attempts to induce, that person to withhold a record, document or other object from an official proceeding.
Hinders, delays or prevents the communication to a law enforcement officer or judge of information relating to the possible commission of an offense or a violation of conditions of probation, parole or release pending judicial proceedings.
"Force by definition can be actual or implied and is the power, violence or pressure directed against a person. Entry into the ground of another without consent is an example of implied force," Washington said.
Dave Stengel, a 30-year veteran prosecutor and former Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney for 16 years said LMPD overcharged, "pure and simple."
"If this is considered intimidating a participant, my God every time I step out the door someone could be charged," Stengel said, adding that he doesn't recall this charge coming across his desk.
Marc Murphy, a criminal defense attorney representing three protesters and a political cartoonist for The Courier Journal, said it would be "unreasonable and irrational" for anyone in the justice system not to look at the totality of the protest, both in its execution and planning.
"There’s a purpose for this statute. We don’t want witnesses or judges to have guns put to their heads," said Murphy, who is also a former Commonwealth's Attorney. "It's wildly inappropriate that this charge would have been used for what has been, in every regard, a peaceful protest."
Murphy said the group had a pre-meeting in an auditorium during which they were instructed about how the protest would take place.
"There was no evidence that a member of the protest group broke rank. There's no evidence there were any rogue elements," Murphy said.
Constitutional infringements
Murphy said the decision to charge for interfering with the legal process is an abuse of power and a police intimidation tactic.
"It would be difficult for me to believe this wasn’t meant to send a chilling effect as the protests continue," Murphy said. "This has raised the stakes — in the way we get punished for exercising our Constitutional rights."
Stengel said the charge is fraught with all sorts of problems, but the most concerning is the infringement on First Amendment rights.
"People have the right to redress government and peacefully assemble, guaranteed by the Bill of Rights," he said.
LMPD said the charging decision came from "commanders on the ground."
Both Hulbert and Murphy said it's unlikely this type of charge came from the rank-and-file.
“I think there are probably numerous parties involved," Hulbert said. "I think it went up the chain of command. How far up? I don’t know."
Follow Billy Kobin and Kala Kachmar on Twitter: @Billy_Kobin and @NewsQuip.
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