Two of three people Gary Police arrested and were later charged with criminal trespassing during a protest Saturday had trials scheduled in Gary City Court.
Matt Kaplan and Nicholas Andrew were arrested and charged with criminal trespassing, resisting law enforcement and disorderly conduct. Andrew was also charged with obstructing traffic, according to online court records.
Their trials will be scheduled for April 2, Judge Deidre Monroe told them in Gary City Court hearing Wednesday.
Both asked for a public defender during their hearings. Andrew was denied a public defender due to income guidelines, but Kaplan must present additional evidence to show he needs one, Monroe said Wednesday.
Criminal trespassing and resisting law enforcement charges can carry a penalty of up to one year in Lake County jail and a $5,000 fine. Disorderly conduct and obstructing traffic can be a penalty of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Following the Wednesday hearing, Kaplan, a Chicago freelance photographer, said he’s disappointed the case is continuing to trial because he and the protesters were within their First Amendment right to peacefully protest.
Kaplan is also worried about what this means for everyone charged.
“The protest was peaceful,” he told the Post-Tribune. “The police roughed us up. … We had every right to do what we were doing.”
Andrew declined to comment Wednesday.
Gary Mayor Eddie Melton did not return multiple requests for comment. City spokeswoman Erika Blackwell said Sunday that Gary Police Chief Derrick Cannon Sr. would provide a statement, but he had not as of Wednesday; nor did he respond to an email with specific questions regarding the incident.
Kaplan and Andrew were arrested and charged during a Saturday afternoon protest against ICE deportation flights at the Gary/Chicago International Airport. Kaplan previously told the Post-Tribune that he was among 30 to 40 protestors who walked from a South Shore Train stop about a mile away along Industrial Road to the airport.
The airport has been the site of Immigration and Customs Enforcement flights to Texas since 2013, as undocumented immigrants are transported from a Chicago-area detention center after a judge has ordered their deportation.
The protesters carried signs that read, “Abolish ICE,” “Education Not Deportation” and “No Human is Illegal,” Kaplan said, and were a bit rowdy and loud with their chanting, but no one was violent, according to Post-Tribune archives.
A protester tried to attach a banner to the airport’s chain-link fence, but airport employees stopped them, Kaplan previously told the Post-Tribune. About 10 minutes later, the group began to march back to the train station when at least 10 Gary Police squad cars showed up, and officers yelled for them to get off the road.
The group eventually moved to the grass on the shoulder, but officers started “pushing people down and arresting them,” Kaplan said. An officer arrested Kaplan as he was taking photos of the situation, and a friend grabbed his camera equipment as he was cuffed.
Kaplan spent about two hours at the Gary City Jail and wasn’t mistreated in any way, he told the Post-Tribune.
The Anti-Deportation rally was part of a wave of protests across the country in the days prior to the inauguration of President Donald Trump, whose administration has promised mass deportation efforts, according to various news reports.
Airport Executive Director Dan Vicari in a statement explained the airport’s involvement in deportations, saying that the organization plays no role in establishing or enforcing federal immigration policy.
“Like almost every other airport nationwide, GCIA receives federal funding, and the airport’s assurances pertaining to the federal funding prohibits the airport from discriminating against any flight coming in or out of the airport,” Vicari’s statement said. “This means the airport cannot stop ICE-chartered planes from using the airport. The airport itself does not have any flight servicing contracts with ICE.”
Freelance reporter Michelle L. Quinn contributed.