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SARATOGA SPRINGS – City police said they arrested two other Black Lives Matter activists on Thursday for blocking traffic at a rally on July 14 – prompting questions about why warrants are being filed against activists for minor charges more than two months later, and why most elected officials are silent on the issue.
Jamaica Miles, co-founder of racial justice group All of Us and a member of the Schenectady School Board, surrendered to police Thursday morning after issuing an arrest warrant against her for disorderly conduct, violation and unlawful imprisonment in the second degree, a misdemeanor. Saratoga Police allege Miles and other protesters stood around a man’s car and did not let him go during the Broadway rally in July. That night, police allege the man called 911 to try to get the protesters moving because he said he had to go home to take his heart medication. Two other protesters were charged only with disorderly conduct.
Four protesters were charged on Tuesday, three of them pulled from the sidewalk outside city hall as they protested their group’s first arrest. A fifth protester was accused of throwing a water bottle at officers while they were detaining the other protesters and allegedly resisting arrest when they arrested her.
In addition to Miles, Democratic candidate for Clifton Park Town board of directors Alex Patterson was also recently arrested, marking the seventh activist to be charged. He said he was arrested Wednesday afternoon by Saratoga County MPs while delivering pizza. He was held overnight on the same charges as Miles. He was arrested Thursday morning, like Miles, in municipal court.
Saratoga Springs Police spokesman Robert Jillson said Thursday more arrests were underway following warrants issued Aug. 31 after an investigation into those who blocked the car in July.
The police actions are the latest in a volatile back-and-forth between city police and Black Lives Matter activists since last year. Saratoga police and county MPs responded to protests on Broadway dressed in riot gear, using large tactical vehicles and, in one incident, firing pepperballs at protesters.
Deputy Police Chief John Catone held a press conference in June in which he blamed the violent incidents at Tony’s tourist destination on the social justice movement and the Albany “gangs” and qu ‘he would “take away all the bonds my family has made in the past 130 months.” years and I will stop your story, “referring to his feelings that activists describe his officers as racist.
BLM leader Lexis Figuereo was not only indicted for the July 14 demonstration on Broadway on Tuesday, but also for his alleged conduct at city council meetings on July 6 and 20. He faces a charge of obstructing government administration, a misdemeanor, in these cases.
When asked Thursday whether issuing warrants and arresting people on such charges was excessive, Jillson replied that it was not. Patterson was also held for 14 hours awaiting arraignment.
“It happens quite often,” Jillson said. “These arrests are based on actions taken by the people we charge. It has nothing to do with taking away their civil rights or taking away their right to peaceful protest. This is to hold them accountable for actions that violate the law.
Meanwhile, the two Saratoga Springs elected officials who would have the most to say about such actions, Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton and Mayor Meg Kelly, have not spoken on the issue since the first arrests made on Tuesday. Kelly does not run for office and Dalton runs as an independent candidate for mayor. Commissioners John Franck and Anthony “Skip” Scirocco also did not respond to calls for comment on Thursday.
Miles promised the protesters “don’t support him.”
“We are waiting for First Amendment rights like everyone else,” Miles said at a press conference on the steps of town hall Thursday after his arraignment. “It sends the message that those who currently hold positions of power are willing to abuse their positions to maintain that power. What we are seeing in real time is government retaliation. “
James Montagnino, a general counsel who is running as Democrat for the public safety commissioner in November, said he believed the action was taken to embarrass protesters.
“It’s used as a deterrent, to keep them from doing what they’re doing,” said Montagnino, who was also at Thursday’s press conference. He followed up with a written statement saying he was “deeply disturbed” by the arrests.
“Several people have been charged with offenses resulting from a civil rights protest held in Saratoga Springs on July 14 of this year,” the statement read. “While I am not aware of any evidence or potential merit of the criminal charges that have been laid, there are serious questions about the circumstances of these arrests that (Dalton) should answer.”
He said the defendants could have received a subpoena, so the warrants could have been avoided.
“Why have the police, members of the public and the defendants themselves been endangered by demanding arrests in full custody on misdemeanor charges, when the much less intrusive alternative of a summons to to appear was available? Montagnano asked.
Tracey LaBelle, the Republican candidate for public safety, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the matter.
Finance Commissioner Michele Madigan responded to a Times Union request for comment, saying she knew nothing about the decision to arrest people. “I had no knowledge of the ongoing arrests or the timing of those arrests,” Madigan said.
Instead, she said she was working on hiring a mediation service to bring together city leaders and BLM members.
“The city and Saratoga BLM have tried to talk to each other, and it hasn’t been productive,” Madigan said. “All parties involved feel that they are not being heard and are increasingly frustrated. This is why I suggested that we begin professional mediation, a structured process where an impartial professional third party can help all of us resolve conflicts and address our concerns. Our aim is to make progress, as previous attempts at dialogue without mediation have been unsuccessful. “
Figuereo said he didn’t want the city to spend thousands of dollars on mediators and would prefer the money to go to something useful, like feeding homeless residents.
He said the arrests would not deter him and others from protesting.
“This is a political ploy, a political assassination of Black Lives Matter activists,” Figuereo said. “They want us to close. We refuse to close and we refuse to close.”
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