Taylor Marshall, one of the people arrested last year during a protest on the Roebling Bridge, pleaded not guilty to felony rioting charges Monday afternoon. This was after they were detained Monday morning and transported to Kenton County Detention Center, where they spent much of the day before being released following the not guilty plea.
Marshall declined to be interviewed for this story, instead deferring to their attorney, Ben Potash. Marshall’s detainment was unexpected, according to statements from Potash.
“Taylor came in today not expecting to be detained,” said Potash.
Marshall was offered a plea deal on Sept. 16, but Potash said this deal offer was withdrawn. CityBeat is working on obtaining more information about that hearing and will update this story once we know more.
Marshall was indicted on the felony rioting charges on Sept. 24, according to court records. They were also indicted on three misdemeanor counts: resisting arrest, obstructing government operations and disorderly conduct. A pretrial conference took place before Judge Kenneth Easterling Monday morning, where Marshall was taken into custody. Their bond was set at $2,500.
Since rioting is a felony, the case was moved to the Kenton County Circuit Court, which handles felonies, before a new Judge, Mary Molloy. The arraignment hearing Monday afternoon was brief. At the hearing, Potash said Marshall had posted their bond and asked the court to waive the $2,500 and release Marshall due to their lack of criminal history. Molloy granted this request.
Potash addressed Marshall’s supporters, who had come out to see the hearing, outside of the courtroom.
“Taylor’s coming home,” Potash said. “The worst case scenario has been avoided.”
Fifteen people were arrested on the bridge last July. The arrests took place after a protest in Cincinnati branched off from a vigil for former Cincinnati Children’s chaplain Ayman Soliman, whom United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained following the revocation of his asylum status. At the time, Soliman was held at the Butler County Jail. He was later released.
Many of the arrested protesters were initially charged with rioting, but most of the people who were arrested were given plea deals before Judge Easterling last year, wherein they admitted to lower misdemeanor charges in exchange for having their rioting charges dropped. However, Taylor was one of four protesters whose probable cause for felony rioting was upheld.
Court records indicate that Marshall had been offered a lower charge of failure to disperse, a misdemeanor, last month before it was withdrawn. Many of the protesters who were granted plea deals after the protest were offered similar deals.
Marshall and three others–Brandon Hill, Suzanne Bratt and Logan Imber–have all sued the city alleging excessive force by the police on the bridge. Marshall initially filed the lawsuit in Kenton County Circuit Court, but it moved to federal court in July. The complaint names Covington Police Officer Ross Woodward, an unknown female officer and the city as defendants.
Marshall claims to have suffered a concussion at the hands of Woodward, which led to “serious memory loss and aphasia,” which is a deterioration in speech ability. Notably, Marshall’s complaint alleges that “at no point did Plaintiff Marshall resist arrest,” but Woodward allegedly acted aggressively anyway.
All of the civil cases are ongoing.
Potash characterized charging Marshall with rioting as disproportionate.
“Whatever you may think about it, having this poor person run through the ringer for over a year for this, and now facing a felony charge is just completely out of proportion to whatever you think might have happened that day,” Potash said.
A follow-up hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 30.
