(Photo Credit KOAA News5)
By Nia Bender
DENVER – Hundreds of people gathered Saturday for a rally and march to demand prosecutors drop charges against a group of protesters. Last Thursday, the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s office announced six people were each charged with at least three counts related to events that occurred on July 3rd and 4th. According to the DA’s office, about 600-protesters surrounded the Aurora Police Department’s District 1 station on east Montview Drive for what the protesters called an “occupation.
Streets were blocked off around the building with vehicles and items were taken from a nearby construction site and used. The protesters prevented 18-officers inside the station from leaving by barricading entrances and securing doors with wires, ropes, boards, picnic tables, and sandbags. Many of the protesters carried weapons and wore tactical clothing.
The organizers of the “occupation” were arrested last week on a bevy of charges including kidnapping, burglary, and inciting riots. All of the protesters, Lillian House, Joel Northam, Terrance Roberts, Whitney Lucero, Trey Quinn, and John Ruch, face felonies brought by prosecutors in the 17th and 18th judicial districts, which cover Adams and Arapahoe counties
The protest on Saturday was organized by “The Party for Socialism and Liberation” and they threatened that the arrests would re-ignite large protests against police violence and systemic racism that have grown smaller in recent weeks. According to the organizers, four of the five people arrested last Thursday are members of their group.
