LEARNING ACTIVITY
Amanda Casey and her daughter Corgan, 7, of McKees Rocks, set up a table for Corgan’s schoolwork at the corner of First Street and Municipal Courts Drive, Downtown, on Friday. They traveled to Pittsburgh to support activist Shawn Green. Also known as Lorenzo Rulli, Mr. Green was in court on charges related to six protests. More coverage of Mr. Green’s hearing inside,
A Pittsburgh activist will stand trial on charges filed against him in connection with six protests between May and September in various parts of the city.
Shawn Green, 24, faced six separate preliminary hearings Friday morning before District Judge Dan Butler in City Court, Downtown.
Mr. Green, who also goes by the name Lorenzo Rulli, faces these counts:
• Conspiracy to commit robbery, rioting, failure to disperse and reckless endangerment following May 30 protests in Downtown Pittsburgh, where a marked police cruiser was set on fire and KDKA- TV cameraman Ian Smith was injured by demonstrators.
• Failure to disperse, harassment, conspiracy- false imprisonment, conspiracy- criminal mischief and rioting, as a result of protests June 1 in East Liberty.
• Harassment, conspiracy and false imprisonment as a result of a protest June 24 at 941 Saloon on Liberty Avenue, where activists alleged that the bar/ club had instituted a racist dress code.
• Failure to comply with police, disorderly conduct, obstruction of administration of law and disorderly conduct following an
Aug. 21 incident in which police say Mr. Green repeat-edly drove near Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto’s homein Point Breeze, yelling ob-scenities at neighbors and calling for the defunding of police.
• Obstruction of the ad-ministration of law and disorderly conduct follow-ing a Sept. 2 “Freedom, Justice and Equity Wed-nesdays” protest in Market Square, where police say Mr. Green “waved his arms” and attempted to stop police from reaching a fellow officer.
• Disorderly conduct, criminal mischief and ha-rassment as a result of aprotest Sept. 5 during which police say Mr. Green participated with others in shouting profanities at din-ers at Sienna Mercato on Penn Avenue. Police say Mr. Green also broke a drinking glass in the inci-dent, which was captured on cellphone video and widely distributed. Monique “Nique” Craft, 35,of the South Side, and Ken-neth McDowell, 33, of the North Side, also were charged with multiple mis-demeanors and summary offenses in the incident.
Judge Butler also told him to return to court in 60days with proof of a mentalhealth evaluation and com-pliance with a treatment program.
Mr. Green’s attorney, Lisa Middleman, said someof the summary offenses against him were “ridicu-lous.” She said during a few ofthe protests, Mr. Green canbe seen on videos trying to stop violence rather that in-cite it.She acknowledged that some of Mr. Green’s behav-ior was unwarranted, but said “that doesn’t mean you should just stack a bunch of summary charges against him.” Mr. Green is consid-ered homeless, according to police. Prosecutor Grant Olson called several witnesses, in-cluding Pittsburgh Detec-tive Francesco Rosato —who testified the most across all six hearings — KDKA-TV cameraman Ian M. Smith, Pittsburgh Police Officer Alexa Siweckyj, and other officers and security officials. All testified that they witnessed, either in person or on video, what one called Mr. Green’s “defiant” behavior.
A trial date had not been set, Ms. Middleman said.
In addition to Mr. Green, several others have been charged with inciting violence or destruction during various protests in recent months. Cameron Guetta, Da’jon Lengyel, Robert Redman, Shaheed Hatch and Khalena Connolly-Wack were also charged in May 30 protests Downtown, and police say they were involved in the damaging or burning of the police vehicle.
Since May 30, detectives have been reviewing video footage from city cameras and social media outlets of “the rioting, looting, and vandalism” that took place in Downtown, according to criminal complaints. City police say they also have received “multiple tips” on identifying individuals that participated in the incidents.
Brian Jordan Bartels, 20, also pleaded guilty to obstructing law enforcement during civil disorder in connection with the May 30 protest, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania.