On Friday morning, student activist and wheelchair user Laura Saavedra was served by UNC Police with a search warrant for her phone at her dorm in Rams Village. The search warrant was served in relation to the vandalism done at the "Walkout for the West Bank" on Sept. 19.
"The cops got very, very physical with me," Saavedra said. "All three of them put their hands on me, pulling my arms and my hands trying to get my phone, and ultimately ended up pushing me out of my wheelchair."
She also said the officers knocked on her door when she was in the shower, and refused to show her the search warrant until she went into the hallway. She said that the three officers told her they had a search warrant for her phone, and as she tried to turn her phone off, they pushed her over, trapping her under her chair.
"To top it off, after being tackled, I was told that I was going to be cited with resist, obstruct or delay," Saavedra said.
Along with a copy of the warrant, she was given a citation for a 14-223, which means resisting an officer. At minimum, a 14-223 is treated as a Class 2 misdemeanor.
The warrant states that Saavedra was observed guiding and directing demonstrators to different buildings where graffiti occurred. Photos are attached of Saavedra, wearing a mask and with her hair covered, holding her phone outside of the UNC NROTC Naval Armory.
A representative from UNC SJP said that serving Saavedra with a warrant constitutes harassment and intimidation because she's an easily identifiable person. The group organized the walkout, but said that the spray painting was done by autonomous actors.
"UNC is trying to do anything to target students, and they're taking it out on Laura," the representative said.
The warrant includes access to Saavedra's photos and videos, messaging across all services and internet browsing history.
