DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — More than 24 hours after protests swept through parts of metro Atlanta over the weekend, some demonstrators remain behind bars.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation, or PSL, organized an anti-deportation rally Saturday afternoon on Chamblee Tucker Road in DeKalb County. Authorities say the group was attempting to march toward Interstate 285 when officers intervened.
DeKalb County Police said at least eight people were arrested as of 5 p.m. Saturday. Protesters, however, said 15 to 20 people associated with the rally were taken into custody and booked into the DeKalb County Jail. As of Sunday evening, only four had been released.
“The first four people who came out, were the first four arrested,” said Miles Wetherington, a PSL organizer who was arrested. “We left, and we were fist bumping with them in solidarity. We know it’ll be another 12 hours, maybe 24 that they’ll have to stay in there, maybe longer.”
After police used tear gas to disperse the crowd around 3 p.m. Saturday, most protesters cleared out of Embry Village Plaza. However, a small group of demonstrators returned. Police then tried to clear them out around 5 p.m.
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Cell phone video captured part of the confrontation. It shows police carrying a woman as she’s shouting, “Help, I’m not doing anything to you guys!”
Lucy Pease was among those arrested. Her mother, Lane Pease, spoke to Channel 2’s Eryn Rogers.
“They live right around the corner, and they heard all the commotion,” Lane Pease said. “It’s just devastating.”
Pease said her daughter and her daughter’s fiancé were not part of the protest and were simply nearby when they were arrested while her daughter was filming the other arrests happening.
“She’s never been in any trouble at all, but she does have very strong convictions,” Pease said.
Her daughter is not scheduled for a court hearing until 9 a.m. Monday.
Protesters told Rogers that they were met with force by police.
“They had already had multiple waves of tear gas thrown at us,” said Wetherington.
Another organizer, Zak Norton, said he was arrested when he attempted to retrieve their sound equipment.
“We politely asked if we could grab our sound system, and that is when I was grabbed by the police officer, and I was detained for unlawful assembly,” Norton said.
Both Norton and Wetherington were released from jail Sunday after spending about 28 hours in custody.
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“It was bad, but it’s nothing compared to what people are dealing with being ripped from their families,” Norton said.
Protesters said those still in jail are now dealing with major disruptions to their lives.
“Now we have people sitting in the DeKalb County Jail who were essentially associated with the rally, but had nothing to do with the rally, but are now sitting there having to miss work on Monday, miss all their events with their loved ones, and even miss Father’s Day,” Norton said.
Lane Pease said the arrests raise serious concerns about civil liberties.
“I wonder where we are as a country where people can just be arrested for exercising their freedom of speech,” she said. “It’s just very disheartening.”
PSL held two protests last week that also led to arrests, one Tuesday in Brookhaven and Saturday’s on Chamblee Tucker. Organizers told Rogers they are not backing down and plan to hold another rally this Saturday.
“They hope that people see all these people arrested as a way to stoke fear for people to not come out to the next protest, but we can’t let that happen,” Norton said.
PSL said their next protest will be at 2 p.m. on June 21 at 275 S. Perry Street in Lawrenceville.
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