RICHMOND, Va. — Six of the nine Free Palestine protesters arrested for stopping traffic on Interstate 95 in Richmond, Virginia, during the Monday morning commute appeared in court Tuesday morning after they spent the night in Richmond jail.
The Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney's Office did not oppose bond for any of the protesters and most were given a court-appointed public defender.
I was the only reporter in the courtroom at the John Marshall Courthouse in Richmond where those protesters made court appearances via video from jail.
In an email to CBS 6 on Monday, a group claiming to be part of the protest stated that they were protesting the ongoing siege of Gaza. The group of at least nine people tied themselves together using chicken wire, PVC pipes, and two ladders, as they blocked all lanes of traffic right near the Arthur Ashe Boulevard exit.
Two protesters, Kenrick Keith Cameron Jr. and Naomi Destiny Isaac, appeared in person for their arraignment on four misdemeanor charges including obstructing the free passage of others and unlawful assembly.
Court records showed Sarah Elizabeth Milkowski Dahlgren of Henrico was scheduled to appear in the Marsh Manchester General District Courthouse on Tuesday.
She was charged with being a pedestrian on the interstate, an infraction, and was released on a summons.
Only defendant Jasmine Cuellar had family members show up in support.
Her father told the judge that her family would hire an attorney.
Richmond General District Court Judge Devika Davis found defendant Connor McCarty had too much money in the bank to receive help from a public defender.
Most of the accused are due back in court for trial on May 20.
A large group of supporters left the courtroom with Cameron and Isaac.
Avraham Martir, who identified himself as a Jewish Palestinian, showed up to support the protesters.
"I respect all who got arrested because they sacrificed their own freedom temporarily because they were jailed simply to stand up for justice," Martir, who did not participate in the I-95 protest, said. "Even though if they were breaking the law, I don’t think they had a bad reason. I don’t think it was in bad faith. They had a good reason to do what they did."
After the arrests, Virginia State Police spokesperson Corinne Geller spoke about the danger associated with both protesters and drivers.
“You're dealing with 65 to 70-mile-per-hour vehicles. It's amazing that no one was injured. It was dark when they came out onto the interstate. They put their lives at risk as well as the motorists,” she said.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
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