It was peaceful as protesters remained on the sidewalk, but some moved onto the roadway and obstructed traffic, according to police
Hamilton police officers ordered the protesters to return to the sidewalk, and blocked the intersection until they were safe and out of the street.
The protest reached Ludlow and Ninth streets, and officers attempted to arrest a person for disorderly conduct but police say Cayley Baker, 26, of West Milton in Miami County, allegedly interfered, pushing an officer and positioned herself between the officer and the subject. The person officers attempted to arrest was able to evade police.
Officers then attempted to take Baker into custody, but she resisted by pulling away and refusing to comply. She is charged with assault on a police officer, disorderly conduct, obstructing official business and resisting arrest.
The assault charge is a fourth-degree felony, and she faces up to 18 months in prison. The other charges are varying degrees of misdemeanors.
“Her actions escalated the situation and endangered officer safety, as the crowd encircled the officers, requiring additional police presence to maintain control,” according to a statement by the Hamilton Police Department.
Protesters ascended outside the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, which is also the county jail, to protest the detention of Emerson Colindres, a 19-year-old a soccer player who graduated in May from Western Hills High School in Cincinnati. Colindres and his family sought asylum in 2014 from Honduras, according to reports. The asylum case and appeal were denied, and they were ordered to be removed two years ago, however, friends of the family said they were never told to leave and checked in with immigration.
Colindres and his mother were told they needed an in-person ICE check in, and during that meeting, Colindres was taken into the back of the facility where agents were waiting to take him into custody. He has been jailed ever since.
The protest was organized by the Cincinnati Socialists and the Miami Valley Immigration Coalition demanding Butler County end using local resources to contribute to the federal government’s immigration enforcement regime and the release of the ICE prisoners in detention there.
Earlier this year, Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones signed a new contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This new contract took effect in March, several weeks after Trump’s oath of office ceremony.
As of Tuesday, nearly 370 people are being held in the Butler County Jail for ICE.
Following Baker’s arrest, protestors were advised to return to the area near the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, and eventually dispersed.
Baker was arraigned Monday and will be back in Hamilton Municipal Court at 8:15 a.m. June 16.
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