Judge Dismisses Curfew Citations For Kenosha Protesters

KENOSHA, WI — A judge on Tuesday dismissed curfew violation citations given to people protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha in August 2020.

Kenosha Circuit Court Judge Jason Rossell dismissed the Kenosha County Sheriff's Department citations.

Some 94 people were arrested for violating a curfew imposed by Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth from Aug. 23, 2020, to Sept. 2, 2020, the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin said in a statement. Several of the protesters contested the citations with the ACLU's help.

Rossell said that the crux of the decision surrounded the Kenosha County sheriff's authority to declare a curfew, the order said.

Beth had the authority to impose the curfew, but the power to issue the citations last summer rested with the governor and local government bodies, the order said.

"The Sheriff was not engaged in activities under [the cited ordinance] and therefore, the citation can not be sustained and must be dismissed," the order said.

The Kenosha Police Department issued the citations. It is working with the district attorney's office to decide whether to pursue new citations, Kenosha District Attorney Michael Gravely told the Kenosha News.

The Kenosha County Sheriff's Department was the legal authority for the curfew but the Kenosha Police Department was the agency enforcing it, Gravely told Patch.

Deja Vishny, a defense attorney who represented people contesting the citations, said that they were unconstitutional. She said she would continue fighting them if they are issued again under a different statute, Kenosha News reported.