Financial Relief for Peaceful Protesters
Donation protected
On 6/2/2020, my girlfriend and I were peacefully protesting in solidarity against police brutality in Hollywood. After finishing our peaceful march, we walked back to our car to head home because it was getting close to curfew. On our way to the car we were followed by a police helicopter but thought nothing of it because we had done nothing wrong. We assumed it was an intimidation tactic and we would be left alone once they saw us driving home.
Upon getting into our car, we were pulled over by 6+ squad cars and had multiple guns pointed at us. It was absolutely terrifying and we were incredibly confused. We were told we were not under arrest, just detained, without any clarity regarding what we did.
We were handcuffed for over 7 hours while the police decided what bogus charge we were going to be given and what was going to happen to us next. We were never explicitly told we were under arrest by our arresting officers. We were refused access to an attorney. We were denied water.
Following this my girlfriend and I were separated. She was sent to a different jail. I was handcuffed for 3 more hours, amounting to 10 total hours. We were then processed and booked for felony looting with 0 evidence. They found no merchandise in our vehicle or person whatsoever since we were not looting.
When we were told by our jailers that we would be there for at least a week we were forced to bail out. We recognize that we’re incredibly lucky and privileged to even have that option, but we were only able to afford it thanks to the kindness and generosity of immediate family.
We have now accrued $10,000 in legal fees. $6,000 is for our bail bond, $4,000 of that is for our attorney. We are now turning to our friends, family, and community. Our lawyer is confident that justice will be served and charges will be dismissed. However, we cannot afford the fees we have accrued. We understand that times are rough. Please know that anything helps, even sharing our story amongst your friend group.
Stay safe and be well.
Upon getting into our car, we were pulled over by 6+ squad cars and had multiple guns pointed at us. It was absolutely terrifying and we were incredibly confused. We were told we were not under arrest, just detained, without any clarity regarding what we did.
We were handcuffed for over 7 hours while the police decided what bogus charge we were going to be given and what was going to happen to us next. We were never explicitly told we were under arrest by our arresting officers. We were refused access to an attorney. We were denied water.
Following this my girlfriend and I were separated. She was sent to a different jail. I was handcuffed for 3 more hours, amounting to 10 total hours. We were then processed and booked for felony looting with 0 evidence. They found no merchandise in our vehicle or person whatsoever since we were not looting.
When we were told by our jailers that we would be there for at least a week we were forced to bail out. We recognize that we’re incredibly lucky and privileged to even have that option, but we were only able to afford it thanks to the kindness and generosity of immediate family.
We have now accrued $10,000 in legal fees. $6,000 is for our bail bond, $4,000 of that is for our attorney. We are now turning to our friends, family, and community. Our lawyer is confident that justice will be served and charges will be dismissed. However, we cannot afford the fees we have accrued. We understand that times are rough. Please know that anything helps, even sharing our story amongst your friend group.
Stay safe and be well.
Fundraising team: Karina Lopez (2)
Isaac Medeiros
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA
Karina Lopez
Team member
