A rally which was held in North Carolina on Saturday was abruptly ended when the police pepper-sprayed the crowd of marchers heading to a polling station to cast their early votes. Some of the marchers as well as the organizer of the rally were also arrested. Rev. Greg Drumwright, the organizer of the rally, said another rally has been scheduled for Election Day. Drumwright decried how the police badly handled the peaceful march on Saturday.
“We were beaten, but we’re not going to be broken,” he stated.
According to the police, the crowd was dispersed with pepper spray and arrested because they blocked the streets without proper authorization. Officials of Graham Police Department also explained that they warned the participants of the rally several times in front of the courthouse in Alamance County before they pepper-sprayed and arrested eight of them. The police said Drumwright and the participants of the rally had not taken proper authorization to block the streets.
Police said Drumwright had requested that the officers of the Sheriff’s Office in Alamance Country help the participants of the rally block the road but the request could not be completed because Drumwright “missed the deadline”. The officers also explained that the crowd of people at the rally stopped on the road for nine minutes in front of the Alamance County courthouse. According to the officers, the stop had created traffic congestions in all directions.
The police explained that they had given the crowd five minutes to disperse but they didn’t listen. The officers also informed reporters that they sprayed the feet of the rally participants and not directly at their faces.
The march dubbed “I Am Change” started from a church and progressed to the courthouse where the participants had stopped to observe a moment of silence for George Floyd, an African-American man who was killed by police officers in Minneapolis earlier this year. Drumwright explained that the officers had allowed the participants to stand in front of the courthouse and even followed the procession through the streets. He also explained that it was not their intention to disturb the roads.
Lindsay Ayling, one of the participants explained that the officers used tear gas on the peaceful procession which also included children without provocation. “They (the police) were only searching for excuses to arrest people and use pepper spray on them,” she explained.
The march had been heading to the polling unit to vote since Saturday was the last day to participate in the early vote in North Carolina – a key battleground state that will be crucial in determining if President Donald Trump will be able to win the presidential election. Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina has made a statement to condemn the actions of the police officers. The governor explained on Twitter that peaceful protesters should not be dispersed and that there should be no form of voter intimidation in the state.
Source: chicagotribune.com
