| NAACP Protesters Arrested for Occupying Sessions Office, Hours After Charges Dropped in Last Sit-In |
| Tuesday, 31 January 2017 09:21 |
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Excerpt: "Carolyn Shields, attorney for some of the protestors, said she was disappointed with the outcome, saying that her clients had arrived to Mobile Municipal Court 'prepared to accept responsibility.'"
NAACP Protesters Arrested for Occupying Sessions Office, Hours After Charges Dropped in Last Sit-In31 January 17
Carolyn Shields, attorney for some of the protestors, said she was disappointed with the outcome, saying that her clients had arrived to Mobile Municipal Court "prepared to accept responsibility." "They feel their point would be made better (with a conviction plea) and that having a conviction is the lesser of two evils with the main one being Jeff Sessions getting the (attorney general) appointment," Shields said. "We're still committed to fight. It will go on." The city did not respond to immediate requests for comment.
Each trespassing charge was a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to three months in jail and a $500 fine. Six people were arrested on Jan. 3, for their role in the sit-in staged at the senator's Mobile office earlier this month. They were requesting a conversation with Sessions, and to discuss civil rights matters ahead of his attorney general confirmation hearings before the Senator Judiciary Committee. Sessions, who is Trump's pick for the nation's top legal job, could be confirmed by the Senate as early as Tuesday. Three of the arrested - Alabama NAACP State Conference President Benard Simelton, Mobile NAACP Branch President Lizzetta McConnell, and Joe Keffer of the Alabama Moral Movement - were present in court. The other three could not make it because their flights were delayed as part of computer glitch that has interrupted service for Delta Air Lines. Among those are NAACP President and CEO Cornell Brooks, who testified against Sessions during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings. Brooks, NAACP Youth & College Director Stephen Green and NAACP Youth Fellow Devon Crawford are expected to arrive to Mobile later this morning. They will participate in a rally and a second march to Sessions' office later this afternoon. The rally is scheduled to take place around noon at 3900 College Lane South in Mobile. It will culminate, potentially, with another sit-in at Sessions' office. "We will exercise our constitutional right to protest and enter into Sessions' office and to speak to him about President Trump's (weekend travel ban) and that, if he is confirmed as attorney general, what his position is on those issues," Simelton said. Sessions isn't expected to be in Mobile Monday, but Simelton said "there are always phone calls" and that he's hoping the senator will speak with members of the civil rights organization. "There is a way to, if he wants to talk to us, for him to talk," Simelton said. The U.S. Senate, which is a majority Republican, is expected to confirm Sessions as the 84th attorney general of the United States. His vote could be split down party lines. But Simelton said it was unfair to question the group's motives for holding the rally given the political realities in Washington, D.C. "Anytime you disagree with anything, you have a constitutional right to express that and that's what we're doing," he said. "Whether we change hearts and minds of senators, we'd have rather demonstrated and have him confirmed than to sit in our homes and do nothing." Sarah Flores, a spokeswoman for Sessions, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier this month, following the arrests, she defended Sessions' record on civil rights. "As Attorney General-designate, Jeff Sessions has been endorsed by African American and civil rights leaders who know him and know that he has dedicated his career to upholding the law and ensuring public safety," Flores said. "Those groups that want to score cheap political points by smearing his name do not have the facts on their side." UPDATE: Hours after the charges were dropped, a group of protesters once again occupied Sessions' office and were arrested again. |
Mobile municipal prosecutor on Monday dropped all trespassing charges against NAACP officials and supporters who were arrested earlier this month for occupying U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions' office.