Prosecutors have dismissed charges against one of the people arrested during a march on the Roebling Bridge last summer.
Kean Babcock and 14 others initially faced felony charges for being on the bridge during a protest against the ICE detention of Egyptian immigrant Ayman Soliman July 17 last year.
Kenton County prosecutors later reduced that to misdemeanor charges for Babcock. He showed up to a scheduled hearing in Kenton County Court this morning to find the courtroom locked.
He realized he had gotten notification from his attorney late Wednesday night that his charges were dismissed. He says he has mixed feelings about that.
"It's really nice to have it over with and in my rearview mirror," he said. "It's cathartic to have it over with, but at the same time, this cost a lot of money out of the community's pockets."
Babcock said immigration advocates and others pooled money to help with protesters' legal bills and even set up therapy sessions to help him and others process the incident.
Kenton County Attorney's Office Chief Prosecutor Drew Harris told WVXU the charges against Babcock were dropped on the stipulation Babcock agreed officers had probable cause to arrest him.
Several others arrested that day later pleaded to lesser charges. CityBeat journalist Lucas Griffith was found guilty of misdemeanor failure to disperse in October and not guilty of three other misdemeanor charges. Another CityBeat journalist, Madeline Fenning, had her charges dismissed in November on similar stipulations to Babcock's.
Kenton County Court records show four protesters arrested on the bridge still face felony charges.
Response by Northern Kentucky law enforcement agencies to the protest has been controversial. Video captured by WVXU and other sources shows one officer, Zachary Stayton, punching marcher Brandon Hill repeatedly in the head while Hill is on the ground on the eastern walkway of the bridge.
Stayton was later given a 30-day unpaid suspension by the Covington Police Department for actions toward another protester on the bridge. Hill is one of the four still facing felony charges for the incident.
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