Kristopher Goad, an anti-racism activist who goes by the name “Goad Gatsby,” was arrested Monday by Richmond Police and charged with obstructing the free passage of others.
Goad says he was walking at the Lee Monument traffic circle when officers stopped him on a warrant from an incident earlier this month, in which police arrested 11 people protesting outside the Richmond jail.
Goad says he wasn’t even present when police charged other protesters, describing this arrest as retaliation for his presence at racial justice protests. “The Richmond Police Department is abusing its authority, and so they are locking up anybody that dares to make too much noise against them.”
Claire Gastañaga with the ACLU of Virginia said, “getting a warrant to take someone into custody for such a low-level offense is the kind of over-policing that folks are protesting.”
The police department was criticized for the arrest over social media by protesters and Councilwoman Stephanie Lynch, whose latest police reform bill was effectively killed in committee.
