Seven protesters who were arrested Sunday during the Chapel Hill Police raid on the formers Yates Motor Company building did not enter a plea at a court appearance Thursday but were scheduled to reappear in court on Jan. 30 at Orange County District Court.
The defendants, Monica Ganguly, Ellen Crawford, Jack Jarrell, Eva Jones, David Maliken, Kassandra Ofray and Daniel Regenscheit appeared in Orange County District Court in Hillsborough Tuesday morning.
Outside the court house, there was a group of about 10 people holding signs that condemned the use of force by Chapel Hill Police Department.
Jose Hernandez, holding a sign saying “CHPD: Defy Unjust Orders Now,” said that the group protesting outside the court house were there to support the seven defendants.
“We’re protesting the unnecessary use of force by the Chapel Hill Police against the people inside,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez said that the group, who associated with Occupy Chapel Hill, would continue to show support for the defendants throughout the legal process.
Maria Rowan, another protestor, said that she was specifically protesting the fact that police did not give those in the building a warning.
“They should have followed their manuals and given them a warning before using force,” she said.
Additionally, the Judge Lunsford Long lifted a magistrate’s decision to restrict the defendants’ presence on “the thoroughfare of Franklin Street.” The judge’s order is to ban the defendant’s presence within 50 feet of the property of the former Yates building, with the exception that they can drive in front in a motor vehicle.
