Bristol County Jail Protesters Arraigned
NEW BEDFORD — The four people who were arrested on Monday for chaining themselves to the gates of the Bristol County House of Correction in Dartmouth, have been arraigned.
The protesters appeared Tuesday morning in New Bedford Superior Court. They faced charges of Trespassing, Resisting Arrest, Disorderly Conduct, and Disturbing the Peace.
The judge allowed the four to be released on their own recognizance and ordered them to stay away from the Bristol County Jail facility. They will appear in court again on October 30.
The protest began shortly after 3 p.m. on Monday. Two of the protesters hoisted themselves on top of pyramid-shaped structures they had set up at the main gate. The other two chained themselves to a fence at the side entrance of the correction facility.
On Tuesday's Chris McCarthy show on WBSM, Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson said he believes those protesters should be prosecuted. Hodgson was in Washington D.C. at the time the protest began, attending a ceremony at the white house honoring law enforcement from ICE and Customs and Border Patrol. The sheriff said the work they do effects life here in Bristol County.