DeRay Mckesson Has Been Released From Jail
The #BlackLivesMatter activist was arrested in Baton Rouge while protesting.
Around 11 p.m. on July 9, Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson was arrested by Baton Rouge police while protesting the death of Alton Sterling. His arrest was captured on Periscope and sparked the Twitter hashtag #FreeDeray, which people used to question the fairness of arresting the peaceful protestors.
According to the New York Times, DeRay Mckesson was released from the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail around 3:30 p.m. after being held for about 17 hours. He went to Twitter to share his reflections on the experience, speaking on the police's continued misuse of power.
"There is no group of citizens that should be able to exercise their power w/o accountability or transparency, like the police currently can," Mckesson wrote. Mckesson also reports that the jail set the bails early this morning and there are still protestors that remain arrested.
The FADER reached out to DeRay Mckesson, but he was not immediately available for comment.