A woman who was charged with protesting at St. Joseph Cathedral during a Respect Life Mass in January was specifically targeted because of her anti-police stance, according to her attorney.
Brian Bardwell, a first amendment attorney in Cleveland, filed a motion to dismiss the charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct against his client, Michelle M. Davis, on April 29 on the grounds of selective prosecution. The motion will be heard on Tuesday morning in Franklin County Municipal Court.
Bardwell alleges that the Columbus Division of Police pursued charges against Davis who was part of a group of four protesters charged following their actions at a Jan. 22 protest at the Respect Life Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral Downtown because she also protested against police misconduct. Others charged include Jordyn Close, 24; Mason Hickman, 24; and Anne Morrice, 35.
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COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 10, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – A group of pro-abortion activists who stormed St. Joseph Catholic Cathedral in downtown Columbus, Ohio, disrupting a pro-life Mass in January, are facing prosecution after being charged by police last month.
During the diocesan annual Respect Life Mass, held on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and presided over by local ordinary Bishop Robert Brennan at St. Joseph Cathedral, eight activists interrupted the bishop’s homily as they rushed into the cathedral and then paraded around the pews before reaching the altar, displaying posters with messages that read: “Fund abortion, not cops,” and “Abortion on demand, end Hyde now.”
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.