ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — Protesters have taken to the streets in Elizabeth City for nine nights in a row, following the death of Andrew Brown Jr.

Brown was shot and killed by law enforcement on April 21.

What You Need To Know

  • The North Carolina Community Bail Fund is the first community bail fund in the state

  • Their director says in the last three days they've posted bail for 16 people

  • Hudson says those arrested protesting in Elizabeth City will no longer be taken to the Pasquotank County Magistrates, but instead to the Pasquotank Correctional Facility nearly 15 minutes away

For the past week, the city has implemented an 8 p.m. curfew, but extended it to midnight Friday, according to The Associated Press. 

Those who chose to stay out and protest risked the chance of getting arrested.
 
“We’re up by this white house … and that’s when the officer comes to my door and says are you going to leave, or am I going to arrest you,” Kristie Puckett Williams said. 
 
Williams was one of many who were arrested Thursday evening.
 
“There’s people in front of us. Press in front of us and protesters, the police are behind us, there’s nowhere to go,” she said.
 
Williams and others from the Elizabeth City community were out protesting peacefully that night.
 
“I say 'we’re leaving, yes we’re leaving,' and he says 'arrest them both,' and he just grabs me and pulls me out the car,” Williams said.
 
Getting arrested wasn’t part of Williams' plan in coming to the city.

Williams works at the Statewide Campaign for Smart Justice Manager for the ACLU of North Carolina.

She says she traveled to Elizabeth City from Charlotte to help be a resource to this community. 
 
“They don’t know about flash bangs and tear gas,” she said. “They don’t know about chemical irritants and how if you are exposed to those irritants how to take care of yourself. They have none of that, and so that’s the type of information and services we provide while we’re here.”  
 
Williams has been working alongside Andrea Hudson, who is the director of the North Carolina First Community Bail Fund. 
 
“People should be able to protest, especially if they’re protesting peacefully,” Hudson said. “They should be able to protest without being arrested just for being in a space.”
 
Hudson says their goal is to bail out as many protesters as possible. 
 
“When we came in they told us we don’t want violence … we just want answers,” she said.
 
With everything going on in Elizabeth City, Williams says leaving isn’t an option right now, because she believes this is where she needs to be. 
 
“They won’t force us out,” she said. “We will leave the same way we came: under our own agency.”
 
Williams says her charges were dropped that night, because they weren’t certified by the magistrate in Elizabeth City  
 
The Community Bail Fund has bailed out 16 people in the last three days, totaling up to nearly $10,000 dollars.