NEW YORK – Twenty activists were convicted Friday of disorderly conduct at a protest over a contentious police policy, ending a trial that they used to spotlight their message but that prosecutors said was about the conduct of the protesters, not the police.
A Manhattan judge convicted all the defendants in one of the biggest political protest group trials in the city in recent years.
It drew extra attention for counting Princeton University professor and civil rights advocate Cornel West among the defendants, arrested Oct. 21 while standing in front of a police station door to protest the stopping, questioning and sometimes frisking of hundreds of thousands of people annually.
“(The court) did justice. I disagree, but that is what democracy is all about,” West said after court.
Convicted of an offense that is classified as a violation, not a crime, he and 18 of the others were sentenced to time served, the relatively brief period they were in custody after their arrests.
Copy the Story Link
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.