The Charlotte-Mecklenburg district attorney in North Carolina voluntarily dropped charges against Gloria Merriweather related to protesting the 2016 police killing of Keith Lamont Scott, according to a Facebook post from Charlotte Uprising, where Merriweather is an organizer.
NewsOne contacted the DA’s office for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
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Authorities had charged Merriweather with a felony for inciting a riot and misdemeanor assault on a government official during a demonstration, the Charlotte Observer reported. But many contended that her prosecution was an attempt to cover up the police killing of an activist that Merriweather witnessed, as well as a broader attempt to silence protests.
“Though Glo’s charges have been dropped, the fight isn’t over. Coping with witnessing police murder and then having one’s freedom threatened for talking about it weighs on the spirit, quite heavily,” Charlotte Uprising’s statement said.
The charges against Merriweather stem from mass protests on the streets of downtown Charlotte in 2016 against the police-involved shooting of Scott. Ultimately, authorities determined that Officer Brentley Vinson was justified in shooting Scott in an apartment complex parking lot.
During the demonstrations, protester Justin Carr was fatally shot near a hotel. The police charged Rayquan Borum with murder for Carr’s death.
Charlotte Uprising believe a police officer killed Carr and authorities framed Borum. Authorities also setup Merriweather after she became “extremely vocal and adamant about the fact that it was indeed the police” who killed Carr, the organization asserts. Merriweather has been fighting the charges against her and advocating for Borum.
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DA Reportedly Drops Charges Against Black Activist Gloria Merriweather was originally published on newsone.com
