The felony rioting charges against the Kentucky representative who was among those arrested at a Breonna Taylor protest last month has been dropped.
According to CNN, Rep. Attica Scott confirmed the news through a text message. “Felony charges have been dropped against all of us! Misdemeanor charges are still pending,” she wrote. Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell reportedly dropped the felony charges because they could not be proved under the felony rioting statue. Attorney Ted Shouse, who is representing the protesters, said O’Connell will pursue the misdemeanor charges.
In late September, Attica, her 19-year-old daughter and 16 other protesters were arrested during demonstrations in Louisville. Along with felony rioting charges, they were charged with failure to disperse and unlawful assembly — which are both misdemeanors.
The arrests followed the Kentucky attorney general’s decision to only charge former Louisville Metro Police Detective Brett Hankison with three counts of wanton endangerment for “blindly” firing into the units of Taylor’s neighbors — who were not harmed in the shooting.
LMPD say a group of protesters began “causing damage” in Louisville’s downtown area. Before the 9 pm curfew kicked in, they broke windows at a local restaurant and threw a flare in a library.
Scott, who wrote “Breonna’s Law” to ban no-knock warrants, says she was arrested at 8:58 pm — before curfew — as she and other protesters were crossing the street to enter a local church for refuge.
“We know that there has been nothing but love, community and solidarity for more than 130 days as we have sought justice for Breonna Taylor,” she said. “As my daughter Ashanti, who was arrested with us, often says, ‘We do not move in fear.’ So, these charges will not stop us, it will not stop the revolution.”
Scott plans to fight the misdemeanor charges. “The absurdity of trying to claim that I would try to burn down the library in District 41 that Black people so desperately need is something we all need to fight against,” she said.