Criminal charges against 14 protesters arrested following Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations in Salem, Oregon, were dropped Monday. \u201cThe Salem Police Department arrested 14 people\u2026<\/b>
\nCriminal charges against 14 protesters arrested following Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations in Salem, Oregon, were dropped Monday.
\u201cThe Salem Police Department arrested 14 people involved in the protests on charges of riot and interfering with a peace officer on May 31 and June 1,\u201d the Statesman Journal reported.
The article continued:
\u201cThese arrests for causing public alarm and\/or disobeying lawful police orders were supported by probable cause and necessary to maintain public safety,\u201d said Marion County Deputy District Attorney Amy Queen, according to the Darien Times.
\u201cAfter reviewing the full police reports it was determined that continued involvement by the criminal justice system would not serve the interests of justice, therefore, these cases have been dismissed,\u201d she continued.
Prior to the charges being dropped, some of those arrested faced a felony charge for engaging in alleged \u201ctumultuous conduct,\u201d the Journal report noted.
In addition, Multnomah County District Attorney-Elect Mike Schmidt said June 17 that once he took office, he would consider dropping charges against nonviolent protesters arrested during demonstrations in Portland, according to the Oregonian.
\u201cI am going to be looking really hard at what types of cases we are going to be prosecuting going forward from those protests,\u201d he noted.
\u201cThere are DAs across the country that have said look, if these are essentially people practicing their First Amendment rights \u2014 they are out there telling the leaders the criminal justice system needs to change \u2014 we are not going to prosecute those,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n