Charges against seven people arrested at the 2018 Puerto Rican Pride Parade should be dropped, an activist group demanded Thursday.
Club member Maya Cruz said she and six other members were “illegitimately” arrested at the parade.
At the time of their arrest, the seven were passing out fliers and talking to people attending the parade. Revolution Club said the group wanted to draw attention to the number of deaths following Hurricane Maria and the Trump administration’s mismanagement of aid to the island.
Ramon Muniz, center, and Maya Cruz, right, both members of the Revolution Club, speak Thursday to members of the media outside the George W. Dunne Cook County Office Building about their arrest at the Puerto Rican People’s Parade in 2018, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020, in Chicago.
Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
“This was the first celebration since the hurricane went by,” Ramon Muniz, 62, a member of Revolution Club, said at Thursday’s news conference, held outside the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.
“The police didn’t like us and arrested us with no reason.”
The seven were charge with disorderly conduct, violating a sound ordinance and resisting arrest.
Club members said they are being “blatantly” politically repressed by the Chicago Police Department.
“The reality is they did not like the message that we were bringing forth, and this has been a pattern since 2016,” said Cruz. “We have been harassed and ticketed for bringing the message to the people that the system cannot be reformed and needs to be overthrown.”
CPD declined to comment.
“We have found some information that give right to our theories” said Joshua Herman, an attorney representing a member of the club.
Club members said they will file motions seeking the release of that additional evidence.
