The civil rights leader who started the “Moral Monday” protest movement in North Carolina has been convicted of trespassing during a 2017 protest at the General Assembly.

News outlets report that the Rev. William Barber was convicted of a misdemeanor charge in a Wake County courtroom Thursday. Barber was charged for not leaving the General Assembly when told to do so, and he demanded a jury trial.

In an email, Barber said he would appeal the verdict.

Barber testified that the Constitution gives him the right to protest in the building. He said he organized a sit-in at the legislative building because Republican leaders wouldn’t meet with him.

Barber, a former state NAACP president, is a leader of the revived national Poor People’s Campaign.

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