Charges still pending against ‘Black Lives Matter’ protesters in Lexington

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – There are growing calls for prosecutors in Lexington to drop charges against protesters who were arrested over the summer during demonstrations.

The city says there were about thirty arrests over a two-month period.

Protest organizers say some of the charges were trumped-up and punitive, specifically, the charge of ‘inciting a riot.’ They point out they didn’t damage property or cause injury.

WTVQ reached out to Mayor Linda Gorton for reaction. Her spokeswoman, Susan Straub, responded:

“The Mayor has no control over the judicial system. She can’t order that charges be dropped.

There were 59 nights of mostly peaceful protest in Lexington last summer, involving thousands of people. That doesn’t mean that there was no basis for arrest. However, overall, arrests were rare. There were thousands of protestors involved and about 30 arrests total in 59 nights.”

Protesters who were charged are getting support from people who didn’t even take part in any demonstrations, including some church leaders.