They were charged with conspiracy and injury to a monument
A Virginia state senator and several NAACP officials were slapped with two felony charges over their alleged roles in the destruction of a Confederate statue by a mob in Portsmouth, Virginia. A protester received life-altering injuries in that incident when a statue fell on his head.
Portsmouth Police Chief Angele Greene announced the charges in a media briefing Monday.
"As the result of our efforts in this matter, we have identified and secured arrest warrants of numerous individuals who conspired, organized, and participated in the felonious acts on June 10th. This investigation yielded the same results of holding individuals who commit crimes in our city accountable but was done in a safe manner so that my officers and no other members of the public were harmed," Greene said.
"Therefore on today's date, felony warrants for conspiracy to commit a felony and felony injury to a monument in excess of $1,000, have been obtained for the following individuals: Senator L. Louise Lucas, NAACP representative James Boyd, NAACP representative Louie Gibbs, NAACP representative LaKeesha Atkinson," she continued.
Greene went on to name several school board members, three public defenders and other individuals who were also charged.
"I am asking for these persons with current arrest warrants to immediately turn themselves in to the Portsmouth Police Department," Greene added.
Protester grievously injured
The mob attack on Confederate statues in Portsmouth made national headlines over a video that showed a statue landing on a protester's head after being toppled from its monument.
The video quickly went viral on social media:
The protester who was seriously injured was later identified as Chris Green. His wife said that he flatlined twice on the way to the hospital where he was placed in a medically-induced coma.
After the horrendous incident, many noted that Louise Lucas personally told police officers to stand down as the protesters attacked the statue, and she was caught on video doing so.
"They cannot arrest them because the city owns this property," Lucas said at the time. "Come July 1, they can take it down anyway. So, these police officers cannot arrest them for being on city property. So, I'm going to stand right here and see what's going to happen."
Lucas later demanded that the city manager fire the police chief because she had "abdicated her responsibility to maintain peace and failed to uphold the law."
Police said they are seeking the help of the public to identify others involved in the protests against the Confederate monument.
The family for Green created a GoFundMe account that garnered more than $55,000 in donations to aid in paying his health bills.
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