More than two years after 132 people were arrested in uptown Charlotte amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd, at least 30 are still waiting for their cases to resolve in Mecklenburg County court, and some have yet to make a first court appearance.
WFAE has been tracking the arrests, which were made during a period spanning about two weeks in uptown Charlotte between May 29 and June 10.
Of the 132 people arrested at the protests, ten were charged with felonies, including breaking and entering and inciting a riot, and 120 were charged with misdemeanors or civil infractions. The two most common charges were failure to disperse and resisting a public officer.
Few protesters have had their charges stick. A WFAE analysis conducted this week found 94 protesters have had all charges dropped or dismissed. The vast majority were dropped by District Attorney Spencer Merriweather for reasons listed as "in the interest of justice" or "unable to prioritize prosecution."
Still, at least 30 protesters still have pending charges more than two years later — the most common are misdemeanor assault on a government official and misdemeanor charges involving weapons. At least eight are still waiting to have a first court appearance.
Speaking to reporters outside Merriweather's office Wednesday, criminal defense attorney Tim Emry, who unsuccessfully challenged Merriweather in the 2022 Democratic primary, said the years-old charges were causing problems.
"We've had clients who have lost jobs, lost housing, all because of being accused of crimes without being convicted," Emry said.
Emry was joined by defense attorneys Dominique Camm, Habekah Cannon and Xavier de Janon, who also urged Merriweather to drop the remaining charges.
In previous statements to WFAE, Merriweather's office said more than 100,000 cases piled up during the Mecklenburg County court's partial COVID-19 shutdown — including these protest cases — and his staff have had to decide which cases are and aren't worth pursuing in order to work through the backlog.
Merriweather's office has said staff are prioritizing cases involving violence, weapons and destruction of property while dropping most other misdemeanor cases.
A spokesperson for the district attorney emphasized those actions aren't limited to just the 2020 protesters. Merriweather has also dropped charges against 12 anti-abortion activists who were cited for violating mass gathering rules outside a women's clinic in April 2020.
