RICHMOND, Va. -- Fifteen people arrested at a sit-in protest in the Huguenot neighborhood late Thursday night, according to Richmond Police.
The demonstration was outside of Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Colette McEachin's home, protesters and police sources told CBS 6.
Police arrested 11 people for picketing, one for obstructing justice, two for assaulting a law enforcement officer, and one for trespassing.
"Benjamin Madlinger, 25, of Mechanicsville, was arrested for trespassing (Class 1 misdemeanor) after running to the backyard of a residence as officers were making arrests," according to a Richmond Police spokesperson. "Madlinger was also charged with picketing."
Dometrius Holden, 23, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Gabrielle Heinlein, 27, of Pembroke, Virginia were arrested for assaulting a law enforcement officer (Class 6 felony), according to Richmond Police.
One officer was treated and released from the hospital with an undisclosed injury, according to police. No information was released on how the officer was injured.
McEachin released a statement to CBS 6 Friday afternoon.
"As a potential witness, I cannot comment on last night’s activities specifically," said McEachin. "The Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney's Office does not respond to demands from individuals or groups. Our duty is to respond to the law and facts of each case."
Richmond Police tweeted out a timeline of events and said that no unlawful assembly declaration was made during the demonstration.
Some initial details about an incident in the Huguenot neighborhood last night. More information to come. NO Unlawful Assembly was declared. pic.twitter.com/C8YXngdtcR
— Richmond Police (@RichmondPolice) June 26, 2020
A spokesperson for the police department said the people arrested for picketing and obstructing justice were released on a summons.
"At approximately 10:25 p.m., RPD first announced that protesters were violating § 18.2-419 (Picketing or disrupting the tranquility of a home)," a Richmond Police spokesperson wrote in an email. "More than a dozen of those announcements were made via loud speaker over the next 20 minutes, giving protesters ample time to leave without being arrested."
The 11 people charged with picketing (Class 3 misdemeanor) were identified as:
Henry Wickham, 28, of Richmond
Harrison Sellers, 22, of Chesapeake
Julia Seliavski, 22, of Henrico
Melanie Bartell, 28, of Maidens
Leo Sinanian, 28, of Mechanicsville
Dominique Brown, 21, of Charlottesville
Andrea Gadzinski, 22, of Virginia Beach
Alexa Sanisteban, 22, of Richmond
Anah Johnson, 25, of Richmond
Marwa Eltaib, 25, of Richmond
Kyle Rudd, 25, of Chesterfield
A flyer was provided to CBS 6 with a list of demands from protesters:
Witness accounts and video from overnight showed officers and protesters shouting at each other as they walked to their cars.
This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.
