Anti-Confederate protestors ride through Graham in a motorcade thetimesnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thetimesnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Avery Harvey, one of two protestors arrested in Graham this week, and several other community activists gathered in Court Square Thursday night to speak out against the city’s protest ordinance and call for the community to continue protesting what they called the city’s violation of their constitutional rights.
On Tuesday, Harvey, of Graham, and Theresa Draughn, of Burlington, were arrested while attending a protest on Court Square in Graham. According to police, the protest was deemed unlawful as the organizers did not file the necessary notifications to local officials and the crowd was ordered to disperse. Both Harvey and Draughn were arrested and charged for a city ordinance violation and failure to disperse. They were later released on a written promise to appear in court.
Two of the lawsuits against the city of Graham, Graham Police Chief Kristy Cole and Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson have merged.
The suits were both filed on Nov. 2 after officers with the Graham Police Department and sheriff s office used pepper spray during the I am Change march to the polls held Oct. 31.
The first lawsuit was filed on behalf of Future Alamance, Sylvester Allen Jr, Dejuana Bigelow and Tabatha Davis. The second lawsuit was filed by Rev. Gregory Drumwright, the lead organizer of the march, in addition to Edith Ann Jones and Justice for the Next Generation.
On Dec. 4, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina ruled that the cases should be consolidated. Both lawsuits stemmed from the same event, and the court ruled they examine a common question of law.