At least 15 arrested at ICE protest on Roebling Bridge. What we know
Covington police said the arrests came after people "obstructed traffic and created safety concerns for both demonstrators and the public" when they crossed the Ohio River bridge July 17. The group was calling for the release of Ayman Soliman, an imam and former Cincinnati Children's chaplain detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this month.
Videos circulating on social media show officers forcing multiple people to the ground during the protest.
'We respect everyone's right to protest, but when demonstrations jeopardize public safety and violate the law, our officers must take appropriate action,' Police Chief Brian Valenti said in a news release.
Here's what we know about the protest and the arrests:
What led to the arrests on the Roebling Bridge?
The arrests by the Covington Police Department came during a rally held in support of Imam Ayman Soliman, an Egyptian immigrant and former Cincinnati Children's chaplain, whom ICE detained July 9.
After the rally, which began in Cincinnati, about 100 people crossed the Roebling Bridge shortly after 8 p.m., heading toward Covington, according to estimates by attendees and an officer on the scene.
"My understanding is that there was a plan to have people walk on the bridge as a symbolic action," said the Rev. Nelson Pierce Jr., senior pastor of Beloved Community Church in Mount Airy.
As marchers approached the bridge, he said, they asked motorists to divert to other locations. When police approached from Covington, the "overwhelming majority" complied with directions to move from the bridge to sidewalks, he said.
Covington police said in a news release that officers initially attempted to connect with the protest organizer but were "met with open hostility and threatening behavior."
Police said that after warnings were issued to the group to disperse, several people were taken into custody.
Who was arrested during the ICE protest?
The 15 people arrested were charged with felony rioting and various misdemeanors, including unlawful assembly, failure to disperse, obstructing a highway, obstructing emergency responders, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. The felony carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison.
On July 18, Kenton County District Court Judge Douglas Grothaus set bonds at $2,500 and has ordered them to return to their next hearing on July 23. He has also ordered all of them not to be on the Roebling Bridge.
Among those was CityBeat reporter Madeline Fening, who posted about the protest on her Instagram page Thursday evening. It's unclear what led to her arrest, but she was charged with failure to disperse, obstructing a highway, obstructing emergency response violations, disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly.
A photojournalism intern for the publication was also arrested, publisher Tony Frank confirmed Friday morning.
Ignite Peace, one of three organizers of the rally, condemned the police response. "The violence that was committed against the people is indicative of the violent systems we seek to challenge," the Cincinnati group, previously known as Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center, said in a press release June 18. The Ohio Poor People's Campaign and SURJ (Showing Up For Racial Justice) Cincinnati were also listed as co-organizers.
Cincinnati police issued citations to three people for disorderly conduct, Enquirer media partner Fox19 reported, but no one was taken to jail.
"What took place in Cincinnati was relatively peaceful with the exception of a few people who were issued citations," police spokesman Lt. Jonathan Cunningham said.
Who is Imam Ayman Soliman?
Ayman Soliman, an Egyptian immigrant who worked for several years as a Muslim chaplain at Children's and a volunteer imam at Clifton Mosque, was detained by ICE after an immigration hearing in Blue Ash on July 9.
Soliman, 51, was granted asylum in the United States in 2018 after fleeing his home country, where he said he endured torture and threats on his life because of his work as a freelance journalist.
Immigration officials decided in June to revoke his asylum, claiming he'd worked for a charity in Egypt with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Soliman and his lawyers have said that claim is false and that the charity is not associated with the Brotherhood, an Islamic group that some accuse of involvement in terrorism. Egypt considers the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, but the United States does not.
Secrecy and 'watch lists': Was chaplain's arrest based on murky anti-terror measures?
"During his years in Ohio, Ayman became known as the 'interfaith imam,' beloved for his steady presence at the side of ill children, parents and other caregivers," the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio said in announcing a federal court order barring immigration officials from removing Soliman from the jurisdiction of the Cleveland Immigration Court, which handles cases from the Cincinnati area.
Soliman, who remains confined at the Butler County Jail, is scheduled for a bond hearing July 23, after which he could be released from detention.
Demonstration moved to the bridge
The protest started at the "Sing the Queen City" sign at The Banks before the crowd moved across the Roebling Bridge toward Covington around 8 p.m., according to web camera footage of the bridge.
At approximately 8:15 p.m., nine Covington police squad cars drove onto the bridge and confronted the crowd.
Gracie Shanklin, who was on the bridge, said she thought the organizers had a permit to march on the roadway. Within seconds of police arriving and ordering the crowd to disperse onto the sidewalks, she realized that was not the case.
Covington police said officers initially attempted to connect with the protest's organizer, but were "met with open hostility and threatening behavior."
"While the department supports the public's right to peaceful assembly and expression, threatening officers and blocking critical infrastructure, such as a major bridge, presents a danger to all involved," the release said.
Shanklin, 23, of Norwood, said she saw Covington officers deploy Tasers on people who were making their way toward the sidewalk.
"We were peacefully marching," Shanklin said. "The police started the violence."
Dozens of officers from agencies across Kenton and Campbell counties responded.
By 8:30 p.m., there were 15 squad cars and the crowd had largely dispersed onto the Ohio side of the bridge. Officers cleared the bridge around 8:45 p.m. The bridge was temporarily closed during the incident but has since been reopened.
A small group of about a dozen protesters later assembled outside the Covington Police Department and the Kenton County jail. The groups were mostly quiet, at times chanting for police to drop the charges.
Did protesters have permits?
Protest organizers did not have a permit on the Ohio side of the bridge, according to Cincinnati city and Hamilton County officials.
A city spokeswoman said protesters do not need a permit to gather and a Hamilton County spokeswoman said they did not receive any requests for a permit.
No permits were issued in Covington. The Enquirer also reached the Kentucky Transportation Department to check if they issued any permits for a gathering or to close the bridge.
What's next for those arrested at ICE protest?
Grothaus scheduled a next hearing for July 23.
Attorney Brian Davis, of the Department of Public Advocacy, said he's currently representing two people who were arrested July 17, though, he declined to say who his clients are.
"As with any case, I'm going to try to gather all the information I possibly can to support my clients in any way I can," he said. "In this case a lot of it seems to be caught on video."
He asked that anyone with video or photos of the arrests email him at brianr.davis@ky.gov.
Reporter Erin Glynn contributed.
This story was updated to add a gallery.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What we know about ICE protest, arrests on Roebling Bridge
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