The group calling itself the “Laquan 9? gathered at a South Loop neighborhood church Friday to reflect on their message and what happened during their Thursday arrests.
The morning news conference at the Quinn Chapel AME Church came a day after Jason Van Dyke, the former Chicago police officer who fatally shot Laquan McDonald, was released from prison.
Eight members, taking turns, vowed to keep protesting police misconduct and police brutality and said they will continue to bring attention to police reform.
“Why does it require a viral consumption of outrage and Black suffering in order to shame and embarrass the criminal justice system into accountability?” said congressional candidate Kina Collins. “We cannot get justice for Laquan McDonald because the only just thing would be if he was alive and breathing, and we can’t get that. So what we are asking for is accountability metrics particularly and primarily through our federal government.”
The five women and four men arrested included community organizer William Calloway and fellow organizers: former mayoral candidate Ja’Mal Green; Collins; Justin Blake, uncle of Jacob Blake who in 2020 was shot by police in Kenosha; Amber Leaks; Dave Power; Nataki Rhodes; Cate Readling and Cassandra Greer-Lee.
Blake was the only one not at the news conference.
They were charged with misdemeanor civil contempt for violating the chief judge’s order governing demonstrations at the Dirksen Federal Building, according to Elorm Blake, a spokesperson for the U.S. Marshals Service in Chicago. Readling was also accused of recording the protest in the lobby of the courthouse, which is prohibited.
Calloway said the group was in custody for “probably a few hours” before appearing before a federal judge Thursday night. They were released, and all nine are due back in court Tuesday.
Calloway said their situation reminded him of the Little Rock Nine, a group of African American high schoolers who protested racial segregation in Little Rock, Arkansas, public schools in 1957. This, along with it being the first week of Black History Month, inspired the group to call itself the “Laquan 9.”
“It was Black men and Black women, like Dr. King, Diane Nash and so many more that have laid out a blueprint for us to fight for civil rights and to fight for it even if it costs us our freedom, and that’s the message that we want to send not just to our city but to our nation and to our federal government, that we are African Americans and with our allies that are non-Black, we are willing to sacrifice our freedom in the name of justice,” Calloway said.
On Thursday afternoon, protesters gathered across the street from Federal Plaza downtown calling for Van Dyke to face federal charges. Participants included the Rev. Jesse Jackson and McDonald’s grandmother, Tracie Hunter.
While most of the protesters were outside, some were inside with a couple of McDonald’s family members, including his grandmother and aunt, Tanisha Hunter. They were inside to lend their support to a letter that was handed into U.S. Attorney John Lausch’s office signed by several community leaders and organizations calling for Van Dyke to face additional charges for McDonald’s murder.
While some people came back outside, about 15, chose to stay in the lobby of the Dirksen building, which closes at 6 p.m. At one point, those who were inside locked arms and stood by the windows facing the crowd outside and began to chant. One of them, Calloway, said the group was “very peaceful” but “refused to leave until we thought our voices were heard.” Around 5 p.m., the group inside was escorted out of the lobby by U.S. marshals, and the nine were taken into custody.
Van Dyke, who was convicted of second-degree murder in 2018 for fatally shooting McDonald, was released from prison just after midnight Thursday after spending about three years behind bars.
The shooting marked a pivot in the city’s history and policing, sparking reform efforts and a federal investigation. A dashcam video that captured the fatal shooting was made public only after a journalist made a FOIA request and later sued after being denied. A judge ordered the video to be released a year after the shooting.
The video showed McDonald, who was walking away from officers while holding a knife, as Van Dyke fired 16 shots into him, many as he was on the ground. But it also showed a jarring contrast between the police and Fraternal Order of Police’s narrative of the shooting and what actually happened.
In 2018, Van Dyke became the first officer to be found guilty of murder for an on-duty shooting in about half a century.
baiduhai’s Paige Fry contributed.