CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Police say four people were arrested Friday night as roughly 60 demonstrators marched through Uptown.
CMPD says the group began marching from Marshall Park around 9 p.m. They briefly trespassed onto the light rail tracks at College Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard, the department said in a release, causing the light rail service to be temporarily disrupted.
Around 10 p.m., police say the same group of demonstartors began to block traffic at the intersection of Stonewall and Brevard streets. Police intervened when demonstrators reportedly began surrounding a vehicle attempting to travel through the intersection.
During this incident, CMPD says William Gissentaner, 23, was arrested and charged with impeding traffic, disorderly conduct, and resisting a public officer.
The group continued their march, police say, and surounded another vehicle at North College and Trade streets. Again, officers say they were forced to intervene in the interest of public safety, which resulted in the arrest of Nolan Strout, 23, Antonio Marotta, 21, and Olivia Turley, 19, a short time later.
During the arrests, CMPD says several demonstrators attempted to interfere and pepper spray was deployed.
Strout is charged with two counts of assaulting a government official and resisting a public officer. Marotta and Turley are each charged with assault on a government official and resisting a public officer.
In a statement released Saturday, CMPD says, "The community’s voice is important to the CMPD, and we will always work to safeguard and facilitate peaceful and lawful protests that do not injure our officers, threaten the safety of the community they serve and lead to the destruction of property. Our top priority is to keep the community safe, and we encourage the peaceful expression of every viewpoint, so all interactions are constructive. We will continue working with all of our partners at the local, state, and federal levels to address community concerns and protect all who live in and visit our city."