WAKE COUNTY – “The Orange County Five’s” trial date for their arrests during a Moral Monday protest last summer in Raleigh, which was scheduled for Wednesday morning, has been postponed.

Former Mayor of Carrboro Mark Chilton, Carrboro Alderpersons Damon Seils, Michelle Johnson and Sammy Slade, and Chapel Hill Town Council member Donna Bell were slated to appear in a Wake County court, but an on-going, separate trial of a group of Moral Monday protesters pushed their trial back.

A new date for the OC Five will be set on February 18th, their lawyer, Mark Dorosin, confirmed.

The group of elected officials were arrested on June 3, 2013, during the event called “Mega Moral Monday.”

Dorosin, who is also an Orange County Commissioner and civil rights attorney, told WCHL News Tuesday evening that they were prepared to testify, but that he would move for a dismissal of all charges against them.

More than 900 protesters were arrested at the state capital during the weekly summer demonstrations against the policies of the North Carolina General Assembly, charged with crimes of trespassing, failure to disperse, and holding signs inside the capital building, which is prohibited.

The verdicts issued against the Moral Monday protesters who have already been tried have ranged from guilty, to acquittals, to plea deals.

Related Stories
‹
Moral Monday Protests Return
The capitol city will be ringing with shouts, songs and sirens as Moral Monday protests return for the first full week of the legislative session at 5:00 p.m.
Moral Monday Movement Turning 5 Years Old with Rally
An effort by North Carolina civil rights groups and citizens opposing Republican policies at the North Carolina General Assembly is returning to where it began five years ago. Movement organizers planned a get-out-the-vote rally late Monday on state government’s Halifax Mall in Raleigh. The mall has been a frequent meeting point for the demonstrators before […]
Case of Arrested Protesters at Legislature Will Go to Trial
A judge says the case of two people arrested at the North Carolina Legislative Building during a protest will continue. Superior Court Judge Carl Fox rejected arguments that the building rules were illegal. Fox ruled in Wake County court that lawmakers could delegate authority over where visitors can go in the building and how much […]
Rallies For and Against HB 2 At Start of Legislative Session
Supporters and opponents of House Bill 2 rallied in Raleigh on Monday on the first day of the General Assembly’s legislative session. The Forward Together Moral Movement, together with the NAACP, organized a rally against House Bill 2, which pulls back legal protections for the LGBT community in the state. LGBT advocates held a press […]
Moral March Against HB 2 Planned for Monday
The North Carolina NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement announced a sit-in at the State Capitol planned for Monday. The organizations held a press conference Friday condemning House Bill 2, as they held signs calling it “Hate Bill 2.” House Bill 2 reversed a Charlotte ordinance that allowed people to use the bathroom based […]
Seils: 'Moral Monday' Charges Against 'Orange County Five' to be Dropped
A member of the so-called “Orange County Five,” a group of elected officials arrested during Moral Monday protests last year, told WCHL on Friday that the Wake County D.A. will drop his case, along with those of his co-defendants.
Dorosin: Judge's Ruling Means All 'Moral Monday' Cases Should Be Dropped
The attorney for the so-called “Orange County Five” says he’s encouraged by the recent dismissal in Wake County District Court of five other Moral Monday protester cases, based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that protest-free “buffer zones” on public property around abortion clinics are unconstitutional.
20 Arrested At Moral Monday
Nearly 20 people were arrested outside the doors of the state Senate chamber at the North Carolina General Assembly, two days after a judge struck down building rules regarding demonstrations.
Barber: Moral Monday Rally to Focus on Workers
The North Carolina NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement will hold what’s being billed as a Mass Moral Monday at the General Assembly on June 16.
4 of 'OC5' Show Up in Court, Not Judge
Four members of the so-called “Orange County Five,” a group of elected officials arrested during a Moral Monday protest at the General Assembly in June 2013, showed up in Wake County District Court today for an administrative hearing on trespassing charges.
›