Three reproductive rights activists who were charged last month for their actions during a January protest at the Respect Life Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral Downtown were arraigned on Friday.
The misdemeanor charges filed Feb. 18 in Franklin County Municipal Court against Jordyn Close, 24; Michelle M. Davis, 39; and Mason Hickman, 24 include disorderly conduct and criminal trespass. All pleaded not guilty on Friday morning and are scheduled for pretrial hearings in March and April.
Anne Morrice, 35, who faces these misdemeanors. as well as a charge for criminal damage, will be arraigned on March 19.
The four charged were part of a group of eight activists who stormed into the cathedral during its morning Mass on Jan. 22. At the time, no arrests were made, said George Jones, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus.
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Kim Barker, Michael H Keller and Steve Eder
Published: 23 Dec 2020 03:37 PM BdST
Updated: 23 Dec 2020 03:37 PM BdST A Black Lives Matter demonstration in Portland, Ore, July 30, 2020, during the months of protests following the death of George Floyd. The New York Times
It took Portland, Oregon, almost $1 million in legal fees, efforts by two mayors and a police chief, and years of battle with the police union to defend the firing of Officer Ron Frashour only to have to bring him back. Today, the veteran white officer, who shot an unarmed Black man in the back a decade ago, is still on the force.
How US cities lost control of police discipline
20 minutes to read
By: Kim Barker, Michael H. Keller and Steve Eder
In the chaos of 1960s Detroit, a fledgling police union laid the groundwork for a system that, to this day, constrains discipline for officers accused of misconduct. It took Portland, Oregon, almost US$1 million in legal fees, efforts by two mayors and a police chief, and years of battle with the police union to defend the firing of Officer Ron Frashour only to have to bring him back. Today, the veteran white officer, who shot an unarmed black man in the back a decade ago, is still on the force.
Faith leaders in Columbus are angry.
They say they fear for the moral conscience of the city and Franklin County after county Sheriff s deputy Jason Meade fatally shot Casey Goodson Jr., a 23-year-old Black man, on Dec. 4 and after years of other examples of what they see as law enforcement s racist behavior.
A group of those leaders have come together to question law enforcement actions, encourage prayer and take action against what they say are problems of racism, inequality and a lack of accountability. People are not constantly going to watch their loved ones be killed and say nothing, said Bishop Timothy Clarke, senior pastor at First Church of God on the Southeast Side. This has to stop.