By Rob Shimshock, DCNF
Three college students and one former student were arraigned Tuesday and Wednesday and face five years in prison each for wearing masks while protesting a Richmond, Va., Confederate rally Saturday.
The four individuals, who were either current or former Virginia Commonwealth University students, violated a 1952 Virginia law created to unmask Ku Klux Klan members in the state, according to Richmond Times-Dispatch.
“I was wearing the mask to protect myself from people who I was told were filming and photographing us with the intent of doxxing us,” said Caroline Hill, the former student. She said she took part in the Saturday counter-protest to oppose Richmond’s Confederate monuments and “people running around Richmond with Confederate flags intimidating people.”
Police arrested Hill, along with VCU students Ian M. Gerson, Corissa C. Duffey, and Thomas W. Rockett for wearing masks, a couple of which appeared to be Halloween masks. Police had announced prior to the rally that they would be rigorously enforcing the mask law.
“For your safety, I strongly encourage all members of the VCU community to avoid this area Saturday,” said Michael Rao, Virginia Commonwealth University president, in an email sent to the school community before the rally and obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation. “There is precedence for violence at this kind of demonstration, and your safety is my paramount concern.”
Rao said that the school took free speech seriously, but that “we also have the autonomy of sound judgment, and we recognize that difficult or contentious debates can be productive only when the threat of violence will not drown out our voices.”
Tracy Thorne-Begland, Richmond’s general district judge, assigned the four individuals an Oct. 31 trial.
“For a charge of wearing a mask?” said Thorne-Begland regarding the Halloween trial date. “That [date] is available.”
Follow Rob Shimshock on Twitter
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- The Florida candidate laser-focused on eradicating horrific animal crimes - March 22, 2024
- Sabo: ‘Rush was our GOAT, there was no equal and he made it look easy’ - February 18, 2024
- Dana Bash appears to want to crawl out of her own skin when Ramaswamy ‘goes there’ on J6 - December 7, 2023
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!