Ali Oshinskie / Connecticut Public Radio
A court hearing was held this week in the case against a white woman charged with a hate crime for spitting on a Black woman during a Jan. 6 protest at the state Capitol. Now Hartford State’s Attorney Sharmese Walcott is taking on the case.
Yuliya Gilshteyn is accused of spitting on Keren Prescott at the January protest. People had gathered outside the Capitol to voice their opinions on various topics on the first day of the legislative session. Gilshteyn was there with groups opposing mandatory vaccination programs. Prescott is the founder of Power Up Manchester, which works to amplify voices in marginalized communities.
The events that unfolded in our nation’s Capitol were a stark contrast to the peaceful protests at the Connecticut State Capitol earlier in the day. But with tensions running high across the country, Capitol Police are making some changes. The barriers are still up at the state Capitol, where hundreds of protesters came Wednesday to object to executive orders.
But they are taking extra steps in response to what happened in Washington, DC.
“Right now we do have some extra patrols out just to keep an extra eye and that’s not because of any threats, that’s because we want to monitor what’s happening in our national Capitol and make sure we do everything we can to prevent it from happening here,” Driscoll said.
He wouldn t provide any specifics, but said the capitol police will continue to respect the right of residents to protest their government.
“Our Capitol complex right here is a safe place and we’re doing everything in our power to keep it that way,” Driscoll said.