Police in Graham, NC Pepper-Spray March to the Polls Participants
On Saturday, October 31, 2020 the “I Am Change” march, organized by Rev. Gregory Drumwright, led a crowd of about 200 people from the AME Church to the polls to encourage people to vote in the town of Graham in Alamance County, NC.
The march included the mayor of nearby Burlington. After the crowd took a knee in the street for 8 minutes of silence to remember Minneapolis police victim George Floyd, Graham Police officers began pepper-spraying the crowd, including children and a woman in a wheelchair. Also among those pepper-sprayed were Times-News reporter Dean-Paul Stephens and several Elon University student journalists. According to Stephens, no advance warning was provided by police before they began spraying.
Another angle on the chaos in Graham NC at 9️⃣8️⃣0️⃣ today, as law enforcement repeatedly pepper-sprayed black marchers heading to the Elm Street voting site
31 October 2020 PM
[@natfrum]
pic.twitter.com/yNVWfg0spl— T. Greg Doucette (@greg_doucette) October 31, 2020
After the police stopped spraying, they let marchers gather to set up and speak on stage. After 45 minutes, Graham police began arresting people on the fringes of the event. At least a dozen people were arrested or detained and many more were pepper sprayed.
A live stream of the full march, the pepper spraying and some arrests was shared on Facebook. Go to 1 hr 17 min and 50 seconds to see the pepper spraying. This video posted on Facebook shows police actions during the event, www.facebook.com/clkirk/videos/10164271840355297.
In the aftermath of the event, several people offered reflections online, including Gov. Roy Cooper, NC Attorney General Josh Stein, and U.S. Congressional candidate Scott Huffman.
Peaceful protests for Souls to the Polls & Black Lives Matter turned violent because law enforcement tried to take the sound equipment. Proper permits were issued #BLM #SoulsToThePolls pic.twitter.com/wJlqH3ZNaN
— Scott Huffman (@HuffmanForNC) October 31, 2020
Stein posted this statement on Twitter: “All eligible voters in North Carolina have a constitutional right to cast their vote safely and securely, without threats or intimidation.”
A press release from the department said the march didn’t have permission to block traffic. Drumwright initially asked police and the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office if authorities could block the roadway for the rally members, but that request was never completed because Drumwright “missed the deadline,” Graham Police said.
Police said attendees created traffic back ups “in all directions around court square.” Police said participants were arrested and pepper-sprayed because they were blocking the roadway without authorization and that they issued several warnings to the crowd to move from the roadway before releasing pepper spray.
The Rev. Greg Drumwright said at a news conference held Sunday that he’s planning a large demonstration for Election Day and condemned how police responded to Saturday’s event. “We were beaten, but we’re not going to be broken,” he said.
Rev. Drumwright has received numerous local, state, and national awards for his service and humanitarianism. Recently, Governor Roy Cooper conferred the Old North State Award upon him for more than 20 years of community work and appointed him to serve on the NC Courts Commission. Rev. Drumwright is the founder of the group Justice 4 the Next Generation. To support the group, please visit www.j4tng.org/home.
Additional details, videos, and photos can be found at The Times News.
