GRAHAM, N.C. — The ACLU of North Carolina has filed a lawsuit following unrest during Saturday’s March to the Polls rally in Graham.
The ACLU lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. It aims to protect protesters’ rights to free speech and assembly under the first, fourth, and fourteenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution and protected under the Voting Rights Act.
The ACLU cited the violence from over the weekend as a violation of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. The group claims protestors and voters encountered police violence in Graham when they were pepper-sprayed and arrested. The ACLU said it has filed the lawsuit against Graham Police Chief Kristy Cole and Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson.
The Alamance County Sheriff's Office talked about Saturday's turn of events Monday afternoon. There continues to be very different narratives between law enforcement and marchers over what led officers to pepper spray the crowd and make arrests.
The sheriff's office said in a news conference one of their deputies was assaulted. Deputies said she was pushed to the ground during the commotion shortly after Graham police officers started spraying pepper spray at the marchers.
Tensions also rose when deputies attempted to remove a gas generator and gas can brought onto the courthouse grounds. The sheriff's office said it was a fire hazard and organizer Reverend Greg Drumwright had agreed not to bring a gas generator onto courthouse property.
The sheriff's office declined to take any questions from reporters during the news conference.
Organizers of the March to the Polls event said there will be another march planned for Election Day.