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NC NAACP unaware of surveillance

Moral MondayThis was one of 13 simultaneous rallies being held in the state. It was held in the Peace and Justice Plaza on Franklin street in honor of the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's March on Washington. The Chapel Hill - Carrboro NAACP along with other organizations organized the rally. The underlying tone through the rally was "Forward Together, Not One Step Back". Many speakers spoke in front of the crowd. Planned Parenthood reps, school reps, public office reps were in attendance.
Moral MondayThis was one of 13 simultaneous rallies being held in the state. It was held in the Peace and Justice Plaza on Franklin street in honor of the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's March on Washington. The Chapel Hill - Carrboro NAACP along with other organizations organized the rally. The underlying tone through the rally was "Forward Together, Not One Step Back". Many speakers spoke in front of the crowd. Planned Parenthood reps, school reps, public office reps were in attendance.

Supporters of the Moral Monday protests were not alone when they gathered together in May to plan their demonstrations.

An undercover officer had attended two N.C. NAACP demonstration planning meetings, according to a statement released by the Raleigh Police Department.

The planning meetings took place on May 6 and May 13 at the Davie Street Presbyterian Church in Raleigh. The summer’s Moral Monday protests, which are still continuing, led to the arrests of nearly a thousand people for civil disobedience.

Raleigh Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown said in the statement that the officer, who was not wearing a uniform, only attended public portions of the meetings and was only there with the express purpose to make sure that the department was prepared to handle the logistics of the protest.

She said the department wanted to gauge the potential number of arrestees, so they could arrange for sufficient transportation.

Irv Joyner, a professor of law at North Carolina Central University who is representing several arrestees, said law enforcement officials commonly observe protest planning meetings.

“It is a regular practice for officers to attend such meetings to ensure that they are prepared for any dangers that might arise,” Joyner said. “It’s their job to keep the streets safe.”

Joyner said that the practice was completely legal and that groups such as the N.C. NAACP are often aware it happens.

“Throughout the civil rights movement, we’ve always known that police officials have been at meetings to see what’s being planned,” Joyner said.

Joyner said the revelations won’t change the terms of the protesters’ arrests. Several protesters are beginning to face trial.

In a statement released last week, the N.C. NAACP said it was not aware that the police were present during planning meetings but states that anyone was welcome to attend the meetings.

The organization praised the conduct of the Raleigh Police Department during the Moral Monday demonstrations in the statement, saying that they had cultivated and enjoyed an “excellent” working relationship with the department during the 13 weeks of protest.

According to the N.C. NAACP statement, demonstration organizers were in constant contact with Capitol police regarding their intentions.

“All of our efforts were transparent, and we had nothing to hide from anyone,” said the Rev. William Barber, N.C. NAACP president, in the statement.

Deck-Brown echoed that sentiment in her statement, saying that the Raleigh Police Department and N.C. NAACP had developed a close relationship over the course of the demonstrations.

“As always, the overarching goal of the police department was to ensure all parties were able to lawfully exercise their constitutional rights of assembly and free speech in a safe and orderly environment.”

state@dailytarheel.com

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