JEFFERSON CITY — Eight Missouri residents were charged Wednesday with misdemeanors in connection with their arrests last week during a Black Lives Matter protest in the state’s capital city.
Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson said the eight, which include seven protesters from the St. Louis area and one from Jefferson City, would be charged with resisting arrest, peace disturbance, interfering with an arrest or some combination of each.
Among those charged are Elijah Foggy, Eva Cloud, Sarah Butler, Sabrina Ridenhour, Lashell Eikerenkoetter, Alexander Goode, Abigail Holland and Krutie Thakkar.
The protesters were taken into custody last week outside the Governor’s Mansion as they demonstrated against crime legislation pending in the Legislature that could result in kids as young as 12 being sent to adult prison.
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The Jefferson City Police Department, which has jurisdiction over the street facing the mansion, said officers gave participants directions to disperse and clear the roadway.
But, after multiple commands, participants blocked the roadway at three different locations before any arrests were made, police said.
Among those leading the protest was a member of the House, state Rep. Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis.
A protest organized by the same group is set for Thursday in Jefferson City.
The charges stand in contrast to a protest at the Capitol in April when hundreds gathered despite the state’s stay-at-home order. They argued that the government mandate requiring people to stay home was unjust and too damaging to the economy. Police that day appeared to be taking a hands-off approach to the protests.
Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Department of Health and Senior Services, when asked whether the protesters had violated the law, said on the day of the protests that his order “carries the force of law.”
“If they deviate from that, then yes, it is a deviation from the law,” Williams said.
Meanwhile, on June 1, as the state was grappling with civil unrest sparked by the Minneapolis killing of George Floyd at the hands of police, dozens of conservation agents were deployed to surround the Capitol as protesters gathered in Jefferson City.
In a show of force, the Missouri Department of Conservation sent 37 agents, who each worked 11 to 13 hours on the mutual aid call, said Jennifer Frazier, custodian of records for the department.
She said the Department of Conservation, which receives most of its funding through a conservation sales tax, wasn’t seeking reimbursement from the state Department of Public Safety for the help.
“The Missouri Department of Conservation does not intend to seek reimbursement for staff time associated with the mutual aid provided to the Missouri Department of Public Safety,” she said in an email. “Conservation agents provide mutual aid to other law enforcement agencies in a variety of contexts, and we typically do not seek reimbursement. We also receive aid from other law enforcement agencies.”
Editor's note: The date conservation agents were deployed to protests was incorrect in a previous version of this article.