Occupy ICE protesters arrested after blocking entry to Immigration Court

Thomas Novelly | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Arrested ICE protestors chant from Louisville police wagon Arrested ICE protestors yell from Louisville police van as one supporter yells with them

Police arrested nine protesters after they spent Thursday morning blocking elevators to Louisville Immigration Court inside the Heyburn building on West Broadway.

The group linked arms using braces that appeared to be made out of PVC pipes, plaster and duct tape. They blocked people from entering and exiting the elevators, chanting "abolish ICE" and "no justice, no peace."

Louisville Metro Police asked the protesters to leave twice before they were arrested, according to Occupy ICE organizer Jesus Ibanez.

The latest: Police make anti-ICE protesters take down camp hours after arrests

Meanwhile, Occupy ICE Louisville set up tents, coolers and signs at a park near Sixth and Chestnut streets early Thursday, about a week after police removed their encampment from outside the federal ICE building. Police later made protesters remove the tents, citing city ordinance.

The protests follow weeks of calls to abolish ICE that began in response to President Trump's previous policies of separating migrant children from their parents at the border. One demonstrator told the Courier Journal that they chose to protest Thursday because it is the deadline for the Trump administration to reunite families.

“We are here today to stop the deportation machine," Ibanez said.

Protesters gathered before 7 a.m. and by noon they were arrested and taken away in a prison transport unit. A dozen squad cars and police officers were waiting outside for most of the morning.

The nine protesters were charged with second-degree criminal trespass, according to a jail booking log. Police confirmed that number Thursday afternoon, but arrest citations for those individuals were not immediately available.

Read this: Policy change rips hope from immigrant children seeking asylum

Those arrested were: Dawn S. Cooley, 47; Courtney Kearney, 31; Clara Ruplinger, 23; Sonja Devries, 54; Kelly McCall, 53; Rebecca D. Bernstein, 31; Carla F. Wallace, 61; David Horvath, 67; and Robert Eiden, 58.

A police spokesman said Thursday evening that the nine people would also face federal charges in connection with the incident. They were released Thursday evening.

The protests delayed the start of Louisville Immigration Court, where nearly 5,300 cases are pending, on the 11th floor of at West Broadway and Fourth Street. Prior to the court opening with visiting judges in April, Kentucky immigrants had to travel to Memphis for court.

Anti-ICE group blocks elevators to Louisville Immigration Court A group calling for the government to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement protested Thursday morning at the Heyburn Building

Meanwhile a few streets away, Occupy ICE Louisville set up its encampment, dubbed Camp Compasión, at a park at 600 Dr. Martin Luther King Place. Last Thursday, Louisville Metro Police removed their camp outside the ICE office on Seventh Street, saying it did not comply with state and federal laws requiring a 4-foot-wide path on the sidewalk.

Police later gave the camp one hour to take down its tents. A lawyer representing the protesters said she made an agreement with police and that protesters would be out of the park by midnight.

Earlier Thursday, Sassa Rivera, a representative of Camp Compasión, said the group is raising awareness about the "terrorization of immigrant communities."

Related: Judge: Feds on track to reunite 1,600 immigrant families but hundreds still separated

"So many times, the immigrant community is living in shadows, and this is happening right in our downtown, right in the heart of our city," Rivera said. "So people need to constantly be reminded that this is actually happening. ... There is a way to stop this: by engaging elected officials, by joining this camp, by spreading the word that this is happening within our city."

Gabe Hauari and Darcy Costello contributed reporting. Thomas Novelly: tnovelly@courierjournal.com, 502-582-4465. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/tomn.