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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGraham officials, organizers tell different stories
https://kubrick.htvapps.com/htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/images/anthony-crider-pepper-spray-1604270911.jfifUpdated: 6:52 PM EST Nov 1, 2020
WXII12.com Web Staff
... Drumwright scheduled his press conference with "I AM CHANGE" for the early afternoon, and the police department scheduled its press conference for right before his ...
The police said the event was not a voting rally, because it was never scheduled to go to the polls and only to the courthouse ...
Justice 4 The Next Generation Coalition, whose title of the event included "March To The Polls," responded that the entire rally was a march leading people to the polling site ...
The group of people standing with all agreed that pepper spray was used toward them and not just toward the ground, unlike what police said ...
https://www.wxii12.com/article/graham-pepper-spray-vote-rally-police-march/34543701
The Magistrate
(95,241 posts)Police lie.
Lies are not a 'side' in a dispute.
Lies are just lies.
struggle4progress
(118,224 posts)The Magistrate
(95,241 posts)And appreciate your assembly of an in the round account.
struggle4progress
(118,224 posts)Elizabeth Pattman
Dean-Paul Stephens
Times-News
... At Drumwright's press conference, he said he was banned from Graham for 72 hours, but carried on with the press conference in Burlington instead ...
... the department shared a safety plan with Drumwright that would allow march participants to gather on the grounds of the historic courthouse ... Exceptions were made for brief stops at Sesquicentennial Park for a moment of silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in honor of George Floyd ...
"They alleged that they only sprayed the teargas and pepper spray on the ground. We tried to inform Chief Cole there would be too many cameras and too much footage of our event for something like this to happen and them get away with it," said ...
The initial use of the pepper foggers was made as marchers gathered in Court Square. According to Sisk, officers waited until the nine-minute mark of the moment of silence before beginning to disperse the crowd ...
https://www.thetimesnews.com/story/news/local/2020/11/01/graham-police-recount-details-march-arrests-pepper-spraying/6114330002/
struggle4progress
(118,224 posts)By Times Leader - November 1, 2020
... Police said participants in Saturdays rally were arrested and pepper-sprayed because they were blocking the roadway without authorization ...
Lindsay Ayling, a graduate student and anti-racism activist who participated in the rally, told The Associated Press police used tear gas indiscriminately and without reason on the crowd, including on children ...
Peaceful demonstrators should be able to have their voices heard and voter intimidation in any form cannot be tolerated, said on twitter ...
A Confederate monument outside the Alamance County courthouse has been a local target for demonstrations since the death of George Floyd ...
https://www.timesleader.com/news/808244/nc-voting-rally-ends-in-arrests-pepper-spray
struggle4progress
(118,224 posts)By Ana Rivera
Sunday, November 1, 2020 2:56PM
... Video showed Alamance County deputies and City of Graham police officers slowly approaching demonstrators standing on podiums before pepper-spraying them. Scott Huffman, a candidate for U.S. Representative and participant of the event, said children and the elderly were sprayed and arrested during the confrontation ...
... North Carolina Attorney Josh Stein released a statement via Twitter saying in part, "All eligible voters in North Carolina have a constitutional right to cast their vote safely and securely, without threats or intimidation" ...
https://abc11.com/graham-police-alamance-county-sheriffs-office-deputies-i-am-change-march-to-the-polls/7523269/
struggle4progress
(118,224 posts)By Maggie Brown, Heather Leah, WRAL multiplatform producers
Posted November 1, 2020 8:25 a.m. EST
Updated November 1, 2020 6:37 p.m. EST
... After people had kneeled for 9 minutes, police began giving dispersal warnings. However, they acknowledge not using any tools to amplify their voices, which possibly accounts for why so many members of the crowd were caught off guard by the pepper spray ...
Less than 30 seconds after the allowed time ended, police began trying to disperse the crowd. Many crowd members said they had no idea they were supposed to move when the pepper spray began flying over their heads ...
"The Alamance Sheriff violated NC Law, our Constitution, and State Policies, when he ordered a pepper spray attack on unarmed, peaceful demonstrators on the last day of early voting in North Carolina," said the NC NAACP.
Burlington Mayor Ian Baltutis said the police very aggressively told everyone to get off the street and onto the sidewalk. They started spraying everyone, including a couple of kids small children. With the breeze, the spray was soon all over the square ...
https://www.wral.com/graham-police-acknowledge-they-did-not-amplify-their-verbal-dispersal-warning-after-crowd-was-permitted-to-kneel-for-nearly-9-mi/19365323/
msongs
(67,360 posts)Hermit-The-Prog
(33,249 posts)struggle4progress
(118,224 posts)Author: Brian Bennett
Published: 2:14 PM EST November 1, 2020
Updated: 2:56 PM EST November 1, 2020
... "The disturbing acts ultimately may have contributed to reported voter intimidation and suppression of the citizens wishing to cast their vote early at one of the most active early voting sites less than 100 yards away in Graham" ...
https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/local/burlington-alamance-naacp-releases-statement-on-graham-police-use-of-pepper-spray-during-march-to-the-polls-event/83-8a057676-b7d1-4b1d-bd4c-4be4b3187862
struggle4progress
(118,224 posts)... Rev. Greg Drumwright said police escorted the group onto the roadways. He also said the group had permission to be at the courthouse ...
https://www.pix11.com/news/election-2020/north-carolina-police-use-pepper-spray-at-voter-rally-8-arrested
struggle4progress
(118,224 posts)11/1/2020 7:51 AM PT
... Famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump and George Floyd's niece, Brooke Williams, were slated to speak, but that never happened because of the police confrontation ...
https://www.tmz.com/2020/11/01/north-carolina-pepper-spray-polls-voting/