Updated Tuesday: The Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission will not pursue charges against the seven supporters of Macedonia Baptist Church arrested for disrupting recent commission meetings, the HOC’s executive director informed the group in an email.
The initial court appearances for the four protesters cited for disorderly conduct after they disrupted a public meeting in January were not held as scheduled in District Court on Monday. Such hearings typically involve determining representation for a defendant, and since the protesters already had attorneys the appearances were pulled from the docket.
The church has been trying since early 2017 to protect land in Bethesda’s Westbard neighborhood believed to have been a historically black cemetery.
Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, Tim Willard, Mary Rooker and Lynn Pekkanen sat in a Rockville courtroom but never heard their names called, the process waived since the group already had attorney representation.
HOC Executive Director Stacy Spann said in an email to the church’s minister, Segun Adebayo, that the housing authority has been in touch with the State’s Attorney’s Office to “better understand the process,” and would not take legal action even though the protests took place on HOC property.
Spann did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Seven protesters have been removed by county police from HOC meetings the past two months after disrupting public forums through songs and chants. They were given citations for disorderly conduct and trespassing.
The church has been advocating for more than two years to memorialize the Moses Cemetery but has struggled to develop a concrete plan with county agencies. In December 2017 the housing commission bought the property, currently the site of the Westbard Tower apartments. Discussions between both sides haven’t yielded any solutions, prompting County Executive Marc Elrich to get involved and offer to act as a mediator.
Steven Chasin and Jennifer Semko of the law firm Baker & McKenzie LLP are representing all seven supporters removed from recent commission meetings. After dozens of other cases were addressed, Semko asked the judge whether the group would be called and was told the four were able to leave.
Chasin quietly filed an address change with a clerk as the proceedings continued, and Semko led her clients out of the courtroom.
The three protesters arrested in February –Segun Adebayo, Jeffrey Slavin and Lucy Perez — have an initial court appearance scheduled next week. Chasin and Semko are working to get the procedure waived.
“We’re clearly on the right side of things,” Chasin said.
Baker & McKenzie is representing the seven protesters pro bono, and have provided support during the two-year fight.
“The firm has been working with the church for quite some time on the more procedural matters, then the arrests happened,” Semko said. “Of course we were happy to do it.”
The attorneys are confident the cases will not proceed to trial. Chasin could not detail the firm’s approach, but said they would “pursue all avenues” in getting the charges dismissed.
This story was updated to clarify the reason the court appearances did not occur as scheduled on Monday.
