GRAHAM, N.C. — A racially diverse group of demonstrators participating in a nonpartisan “I Am Change” march to the polls on the last day of early voting Saturday in North Carolina were pepper sprayed by authorities.
Alamance County sheriff’s deputies and Graham police used pepper spray on members of the crowd, including on a 3-year-old boy, a 5-year-old girl, as well as other children and older adults, the News and Observer reported.
The march was organized by Rev. Greg Drumwright, who leads the Citadel Church in Greensboro and is a self-proclaimed community leader and organizer, according to his website.
“We are fed up with this kind of treatment in Alamance County and in Graham City,” Drumwright said in a Facebook live video following the altercation. “Both of those law entities ... colluded to suppress peaceful organizers, who were here not only to vote today, but to call an end to system oppression and racial disparages.”
Drumright plans to speak more about the incident at a press conference Sunday in Burlington.
During the event Saturday, the group walked with a police escort from Wayman’s Chapel AME Church to Court Square for a rally to encourage people to vote. A Confederate monument outside the courthouse has been a frequent location of demonstrations this summer. At one point in the rally, the group held a moment of silence for George Floyd, the Minneapolis Black man killed while in police custody in May. After the moment of silence, authorities started telling demonstrators to clear the area, then indiscriminately began using pepper spray.
Melanie Mitchell’s 5 and 11-year-old daughters were pepper-sprayed after the moment of silence, the News and Observer reported. Both children threw up from the experience.
“My 11-year-old was terrified,” Mitchell said. “She doesn’t want to come down to Graham anymore.”
The crowd then moved to the courthouse where speeches were planned. However, deputies started taking down the sound system and telling the crowd to leave before the speakers had concluded. Authorities then started using pepper spray again.
This time, Veronica Holman said her 3-year-old nephew threw up after being pepper sprayed.
“They didn’t warn us or anything,” she told the News and Observer. “We were just sitting on the wall.”
A video from the rally also shows an officer using pepper spray on a woman in a motorized wheelchair 10-feet away from him.
At least three politicians participated in the rally at different parts of the day including, Ian Baltutis, current mayor of Burlington; Dreama Caldwell, a Democratic candidate for county commissioner; and Seneca Rodgers, a Democratic candidate for school board.
Authorities arrested at least 12 people including Drumwright, the News and Observer reported. Drumwright and others were released later Saturday on the condition that they not return to Graham for at least 72 hours.
Police said in a statement Saturday that Drumright and other organizers did not follow proper procedures to hold the event and defended officer’s use of pepper spray, which was released toward the ground and not directly at participants.
Police said protestors stopped in the road for nearly nine minutes, creating traffic in all directions. They said they gave demonstrators a five minute warning to leave before they started using pepper spray
“(The) assembly reached a level of conduct that led to the rally being deemed unsafe and unlawful by unified command,” police said.
Drumwright said the group was permitted to stand in the courthouse square and was escorted through the streets by the police. He also said that the group had “no intention” of having the rally in the street.
Elections officials said the event did not disrupt voting.
“We’re still gathering information but it appears that voting has continued and hasn’t been interrupted,” Patrick Gannon, spokesman for the State Board of Elections told the News and Observer.
However, some who participated in the march to the polls might not have made it there because of the police interaction.
“Why were we tear-gassed on the day we were going to the polls? Voter intimidation?” Quenclyn Ellison, president of Alamance Alliance 4 Justice and an event organizer, told the News and Observer. “We’ve been out here doing this for several weeks, and we were peaceful. How do we get treated with such great threat?”
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein condemned the actions.
“All eligible voters in North Carolina have a constitutional right to cast their vote safely and securely, without threats or intimidation,” Stein said on social media.
Gov. Roy Cooper was dismayed at what he saw.
“This incident is unacceptable,” Cooper wrote on social media. “Peaceful demonstrators should be able to have their voices heard and voter intimidation in any form cannot be tolerated.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.