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A judge ruled the first protester criminally charged for picketing against coronavirus-related mandates outside Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s home was "wrongfully arrested" months ago.
Wu, a Democrat, had advocated for an ordinance restricting picketing outside private residences from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. after months of demonstrations outside of her home in Roslindale voicing opposition to the mayor’s proposals for mask mandates in public places and vaccination requirements.
Shannon Llewellyn was the first protester to be arrested outside Wu’s home in April at approximately 7:45 a.m. after the picketing ban took effect, the Boston Herald reported.
But Judge Steven Key, of the Roxbury Division of Boston Municipal Court, decided last week, "this should not have been a criminal complaint at all" under the ordinance passed by City Council along a 9-4 vote.
"This should have been, according to the ordinance, it’s supposed to be a civil disposition, not a criminal disposition," Key said, acknowledging that the language of the ordinance deems the Boston police officer should have handed Llewellyn a citation notice instead of arresting the woman.
Mayor Michelle Wu speaks at a press conference during a protest at the Whittier Street Health Center in Boston, Mass., on January 15, 2022. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
"That was not an option given to you, and you were placed under arrest and charged in this matter," the judge said. "I think you were wrongfully arrested and wrongfully charged as a result."
The notice would have given her the option to have a hearing before a clerk magistrate.
A group of demonstrators protest outside the home of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston on January 25, 2022. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The ordinance says that those who violate the picketing hours would face a fine of $50 on the first instance, $150 for the second violation and $300 for the third violation.
Key dropped the charge against Llewellyn in the April arrest and ordered it expunged from her record.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is met by police officers as she leaves her home where several protesters had gathered outside to demonstrate against her vaccine mandate in Boston's Roslindale on Jan. 12, 2022. (Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
"Our argument is that the ordinance is unconstitutional," Llewellyn’s attorney, Ilya Feoktistov, told the Herald. "But the key here is that the judge did acknowledge that this ordinance cannot be enforced with arrests, and that the arrests were wrongful."
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Llewellyn was among four protesters arrested outside Wu’s home around 7:45 p.m. in a separate incident in June. Last week, a judge dismissed charges against two of those protesters — Marie Brady and Danielle Mazzeo. Video of the incident showed the group chanting "Shame on Wu" and "Free speech is not a crime," as Llewellyn banged on a metal pot.
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