Nearly 120 arrested during Midtown protest in July make court appearance Monday in Omaha

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - On Monday, Omaha protesters had their day in court.

More than 100 were arrested in late July during a protest over police brutality and systematic racism.

When 250 protesters were arrested in June in Omaha, most of the cases were dismissed by the city prosecutor because the individuals did not have criminal records.

Some others were offered diversion while some could plead guilty and pay a $50 fine.

By 6 News’ count, the prosecutor declined to charge 89 of the cases for a lack of evidence, leaving 30 facing charges.

On Monday, one after another faced Judge Stephanie Hansen — and it was a coordinated effort — the individuals asked for a continuance to fight the charges.

On that Saturday night in late July in Midtown Omaha, 119 individuals were arrested. Most were booked on a variety of charges, from obstructing traffic to failure to disperse, and unlawful assembly.

Then the computer system at Douglas County Corrections had problems, delaying the release of the suspects for hours.

More than a dozen in court Monday were offered diversion, or could plead guilty and pay a fine.

None of the protesters took the deal.

“The intention here was to make an example or send a message to others who choose to follow our footsteps. Those of us who still have charges against us are all very active members of the movement,” said Cole Christensen of Omaha.

The protesters offered their support to each other.

When one came out of the courthouse, they would get applause and cheers.

Some defense attorneys said they plan to challenge whether the protesters were obstructing traffic and could be charged with that. The idea is that they were allowed in the road by police, and then were later told they couldn’t be there.

That argument will be made before a judge later this month.