Resource: Case: Allen, Et Al. V. City Of Graham, Et Al.

This case arises out of the deployment of pepper spray by the Graham Police Department and Alamance County Sheriff’s Office on peaceful protestors on October 31, 2020. Protesters had been demonstrating in Graham, North Carolina as part of the “I am Change: Legacy March to the Polls” (the “March”), which was organized to encourage “people to go to the polls and vote for change” and “serve as a moment of political power for Black communities.” The March took place on the last day of early voting and voter registration in North Carolina, on the last Saturday before the 2020 general election, and was intended to culminate near the City of Graham’s Elm Street polling place. On at least three occasions during the march, police officers deployed pepper spray on March attendees, which included elderly and disabled individuals as well as young children. Certain March attendees had intended to register to vote and/or vote after the March but were unable to do so as a result of the police violence that day.