A jury found the student not guilty of civil rights intimidation charges, but guilty of disrupting a Black Lives Matter protest.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Tenn. — A jury has reached a verdict in the case involving a former ETSU student who showed up at a Black Lives Matter rally wearing a gorilla mask and danging bananas tied with rope in front of protesters.

Tristan Rettke was found guilty on one misdemeanor count of disrupting a meeting, but not guilty on two counts of civil rights intimidation, and not guilty of two counts of disorderly conduct. The jury recommended a $500 fine.

Tristan Rettke was facing criminal charges after he showed up to a Black Lives Matter rally on campus in 2016 wearing a gorilla mask and dangling bananas tied with rope in front of protesters.

Both the State and defense rested their cases Tuesday evening and the jury met Wednesday morning to begin deliberations.

At issue was whether Rettke was exercising his right to free speech or violating the civil rights of Black Lives Matter protesters.

"What is he? He's a heckler," said Patrick Denton, the attorney representing Rettke. "He's a heckler for that protest and, as much as (the assistant district attorney) doesn't want to acknowledge, that's speech. It obviously is. We all understand that."

Witnesses testified that they felt angry, afraid and threatened by Rettke's actions at the rally.

"When he came out here, honestly I was scared," said Brook'ale Anderson, an ETSU student who attended the rally. "The thought kept running through my mind, like, am I going to make it home to my mom?"