Protestors who were arrested on the Roebling Bridge last week appeared in court Wednesday, where some of them received plea deals in exchange for dismissed charges while others had their felony riot charges upheld and sent to a grand jury, which will determine if there is enough evidence for an indictment.
The results come following a court hearing in Kenton County District Court. The fifteen people on the docket, most of whom were from Cincinnati, had received rioting charges (a felony) following a chaotic encounter with Covington PD, as well as several neighboring departments, on the Roebling Bridge last week.
Seven protesters received plea deals, wherein they pleaded guilty to a single, lower charge in exchange for the dismissal of their other charges, including those for rioting. The court granted them time served on their charges but did not waive their court costs.
Four protestors had their rioting charges dismissed but had their lower charges upheld. These included two journalists from Cincinnati CityBeat: Lucas Griffith and Madeline Fening. A hearing for these remaining charges was scheduled for August.
Finally, four protestors, including Brandon Hill, who was videotaped getting repeatedly punched by a police officer, had the probable cause for their rioting charges upheld and sent to a grand jury.
The arrests took place after the protest in Cincinnati branched off from a vigil for former Cincinnati Children’s chaplain Ayman Soliman, whom ICE recently detained following the revocation of his asylum status. Soliman is currently being held at the ICE Detention Facility in the Butler County Jail in Hamilton, Ohio. He is scheduled for a hearing in federal court on Thursday.
The police and protestors clashed as the protestors attempted to cross the bridge from the Ohio side. Nick Swartsell, a reporter with WVXU, was on the scene and recorded several videos that later became widely circulated among news media and on social media (he later wrote a complete story about it).
Videos show the police making arrests, deploying tasers and other weapons and arresting Fening. City Beat later released a statement in support of the reporters. Both Fening and Lucas were represented by ACLU lawyers in court on Wednesday.
Other video footage shows an officer, Zachary Stayton, punching Hill in the head while other officers hold him down. Hill later stated that “it seems like some folks used excessive force.”
A lawsuit filed in September 2023 details another time Stayton was accused of excessive force. According to court documents, Stayton and another officer were accused of slamming a man to the ground and arresting him outside a Covington Kroger. The man stated he refused to give police his ID when they walked up to him outside of his vehicle in the Kroger parking lot.
“I suffered contusions, scrapes, abrasions and bleeding to my head and face from being slammed against a fence and a wall,” the person wrote. “I also suffered contusions, scrapes, abrasions and bleeding to my left elbow. I was transported immediately to the jail and did not receive any medical attention.”
The man who filed the lawsuit dismissed his claim in February 2024 after settling with the city for $27,500.
After the encounter on the bridge, Stayton was placed on paid administrative duty, meaning he’s still working in the office but not out on patrol, while the police conduct an internal affairs investigation into his actions.
Much of the backlash from onlookers and the community came from the officers’ use of force during the arrests. The vigil in Cincinnati was organized by a group called Ignite for Peace in partnership with several faith-based advocacy groups. Ignite for Peace was not involved in the actions on the bridge, but the group later sent out a statement condemning the behavior of the police. Other groups and community members have issued similar condemnatory statements.
The City and Covington PD held a press conference the day after the arrests, where they played body cam footage from the scene. The police and Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders maintain that the protesters were overly hostile and confrontational. Rob Sanders himself served as the prosecutor at Wednesday’s hearing.
They also point out that the group lacked a permit to assemble on the bridge, and claim that Hill had actively tried to take the officer’s pepper ball gun during the encounter, a characterization Hill denies. The police officer who testified in Wednesday’s hearing made the same argument. The police also pointed to safety risks, such as falling off the bridge into the river.
“We spent a lot of time on those bridges,” Covington Police Chief Brian Valenti said last week. “And the safety of not only the public that are up there but our officers is of the upmost importance.”
The hearing on Wednesday lasted a long time, and the courtroom was packed full of people, including supporters of the protestors. Police officers attended as well, several of whom offered testimony. Reporters with cameras and other equipment lined the back wall, and large groups of people showed up outside the justice center to show support for the protestors.
Judge Kenneth Easterling presided over the hearing, and attorneys from several of the protestors attempted to make a case against probable cause for the rioting charges, often by attempting to show the protestors’ behavior did not meet the statutory definition of a riot. These exchanges between the defense attorneys, Sanders, Easterling and the police officers giving testimony were at times tense. Easterling instructed all of the protestors to stay off the bridge, including the journalists.
Easterling’s comments suggested he had little sympathy for the protestors, at least ones for whom the probable cause for rioting was upheld. Hill’s defense attorney, for instance, attempted to make the case that violence was likely brought on by the police presence. He attempted to demonstrate this by reading a commentary on the Kentucky definition of a riot.
“These provisions are not intended to apply to peaceful joint behavior, of which the police may disapprove, on the ground that it intends to provoke others to violent reactions, or even to assemblies to commit offenses unattended by circumstances of disorder,” the attorney read. “Thus, these statutes do not include mere unlawful assembly, mere presence without taking part by word or deed, is not participation in a riot under [Kentucky law].”
“What about knocking somebody’s gun out of their hand, their pepper gun?” Easterling asked.
The attorney said there was an “intervening act” in this case, namely that the police showed up and acted aggressively. The attorney said the assembly, even if it was unlawful, started off peacefully. Easterling wasn’t having it and spoke unambiguously about his feelings on the situation.
“The issue here is that at what point did it become a supposed riot?” Hill’s attorney asked. “Because at one definite point it was simply a peaceful assembly obstructing traffic. And from that point, we have officers who arrive and they give commands and they start shooting pepper balls and tasers and non-lethal methods.”
Easterling asked outright if he thought the attorney believed it was the police’s fault.
“The intervening act is the police when they create unlawful acts–“
“All right, we’re done,” Easterling interrupted. “Probable cause is established.”
The attorney attempted to respond, but Easterling raised his voice.
“It’s my turn,” Easterling said. “I’ve sat and listened to this for about 20, 30 minutes. This is a riot. People that gathered – five or more people have gathered in this community to tumultuous and violent behavior: They’re attacking police. They’re running after police. They’re knocking stuff out of police hands. They are interfering with a government function, and they are substantially obstructing law enforcement. That is a riot.”
The attorney had also asked to play a video earlier in the hearing, which Sanders believed was unusual (and irrelevant) for a preliminary hearing, but Easterling denied this.
“I don’t need a video to tell me,” Easterling said. “The officer’s testimony is sufficient. It’s been sufficient year upon year here in this community and every community in this commonewealth of Kentucky. So, I don’t need to see it.”
The next hearing for the lower charges that were upheld will take place on Aug. 14.
Taylor Weiter of WCPO contributed reporting to this story.