Judge orders protest charges dropped

BEVERLY HILLS — Protesters who demonstrated against racial injustice in Beverly Hills last summer must have criminal charges against them dismissed because the city’s emergency ordinance to arrest them was unconstitutional, a judge ruled.

The wealthy city’s decision to prosecute more than two dozen protesters, who had been part of demonstrations nationwide to decry the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor by police, has been criticized for months.

Other Los Angelesarea prosecutors have declined to move forward with cases against thousands of peaceful protesters. The judge ruled Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Beverly Hills proclaimed a local emergency on May 30 and imposed nighttime curfews after demonstrations spread to the city, which borders

Los Angeles and West Hollywood.

Two weeks later, the city barred noisy gatherings of more than 10 people after 9 p.m. to “preserve the peace and tranquility of residential neighborhoods.” The penalty was a misdemeanor charge punishable by up to 6 months in jail.

On June 26, the Black Future Project organized a largely peaceful protest that included around 75 people. About a third of them were arrested for violation of the ordinance.

The protesters were initially held on $5,000 bail — an amount that critics said was excessive — but were released the next day after the outcry.

Superior Court Judge Mark Windham ruled the ordinance violated people’s free speech. “Beverly Hills cannot prohibit legitimately targeted disturbances with a measure that equally prohibits innocent protected expression,” he wrote.