Jamilah Nasheed, a Missouri state senator, was still in jail Tuesday morning after police took her and another man into custody in front of the Ferguson Police Station Monday night.
Nasheed has been released. She says she was arrested trying to demonstrate non-violent disobedience and denies she was just pulling a publicity stunt. More below.
Police warned the group of protesters gathered at the station — the site of near-constant protests since a Ferguson officer shot and killed unarmed teen Michael Brown — that officers would arrest anyone who stood in the roadway.
But that didn’t stop Nasheed. At 8:35 p.m. she and Jefonte Nelson stepped into the street and refused to move when the on-site St. Louis County police commander threatened them with arrest.
Here’s the official report of what happened next from St. Louis County police:
Both Nasheed and Nelson were told by the commander they were in violation of City of Ferguson ordinance and asked them numerous times to move out of the street or they would be arrested. After both subjects remained in the street, failing to comply, officers took both subjects into custody without incident. Both subjects were advised they were under arrest for violating the City of Ferguson ordinance for walking in a roadway where sidewalks accessible.
In videos documenting her arrest, Nasheed is smiling and chanting as she is arrested. Several times she calls out, “No justice,” and protesters respond, “No peace.”
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