During a press conference outside of the Mecklenburg County Jail on Friday, members of local activist group Charlotte Uprising stood behind a long banner that read, “Hands off Anthony! Defund the police.”
That Anthony is Anthony Ferguson, who has been out protesting and working with Charlotte Uprising’s Jail Support group.
"I’ve become a target and therefore harassed, chased, sprayed, gassed, beaten, arrested, for peacefully protesting for the right to be black in America and for demanding justice and change in my community," Ferguson said.
Ferguson’s lawyer Habekah Cannon says her client was charged with resisting a public officer from an incident on Monday; she declined to go into further detail. Earlier this week, Cannon says CMPD officers showed up at his parents' home demanding to know where he was.
"(His mother) said five officers circled her house and demanded to know where Anthony was and they were rude to her, they didn’t respect her boundaries for social distancing," Cannon said. "We are in the middle of COVID-19. They were very rude and hostile and aggressive to her."
Cannon says the warrant for Ferguson’s arrest was posted Thursday.
A second protester, Jamie Marsicano, learned moments before Friday’s press conference she had two outstanding warrants for her arrest for impeding traffic and disorderly conduct.
Both Ferguson and Marsicano turned themselves in as the group chanted, "We see you! We love you."
Sign up here for The Frequency, WFAE’s daily email newsletter.
_
