DURHAM, N.C. (Sept. 23, 2025 — Criminal fees against 3 people who were apprehended during an April school objection over North Carolina Central University’s (NCCU) inadequate real estate conditions were rejected Monday in Durham County District Court.
The State willingly rejected the costs versus two trainees and one teacher after a district court judge rejected their attempt to delay the situations, in spite of a previous court order stating they would either be attempted or disregarded on September 22, 2025 Southern Union for Social Justice (SCSJ) represented all 3 individuals.
The dismissals are vindication for Daniel Cole Atwood, Jose Andres Estrella, and Moriah Flowers, that spent over 5 months facing the results from the college’s aggressive action to a school demonstration. They adhere to an earlier triumph for transparency, which followed SCSJ effectively petitioned the Durham Region Superior Court to release the complete police body-worn video camera footage from the demonstration , currently available to the public
“This judgment suggests our clients can finally move on with their lives and focus on their research studies,” claimed Dominique Erney, Advice for Justice System Reform at SCSJ “They must never ever have actually been required to withstand this challenge, and we will certainly continue to fight for the right to protest.”
College authorities– consisting of some who took a trip from Chapel Hill to NCCU’s school– responded April 16, 2025, to a peaceful demonstration entailing ratings of pupils and some faculty. Bodycam footage later confirmed the authorities stopped working to appropriately release dispersal orders prior to getting hold of SCSJ’s customers and placing them under arrest for what was lawful conduct shielded by the First Modification.
Regardless of the triumph in court Monday, the arrest and prosecution of Atwood, Estrella, and Flowers had considerable and harmful effects. Atwood, an adjunct professor, was immediately put on hold prior to any examination. Estrella, a previous NCCU trainee currently enrolled at Durham Technology, was prohibited from school. Blossoms, an existing NCCU pupil, was evicted from her student housing one week right into the present term.
“This case works as an archetype of exactly how to mess up a trainee demonstration: a heavy-handed action using cops, hostile arrests, and pressing criminal prosecutions regardless of clear offers to engage in useful conversations and restorative justice,” claimed Janki Kaneria, Advise for Justice System Reform at SCSJ. “Despite the court triumph, preventable and unnecessary harm has actually been brought upon on our clients.”
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Southern Union for Social Justice , established in 2007, partners with neighborhoods of shade and financially disadvantaged areas in the South to defend and advance their political, social, and economic rights via the mix of legal campaigning for, research, arranging, and interactions. Find out more at southerncoalition.org and follow our service Facebook , Instagram, and LinkedIn