Activist Carlos Chaverst Jr. Arrested Again In Hoover Protests

HOOVER, AL - The protests surrounding the death of EJ Bradford have not let up in Hoover - taking place nightly for two weeks now - and as previously reported, the protests are now resulting in arrests by Hoover police. Local civil right activist Carlos Chaverst Jr. was arrested Thursday night for the second time in as many days.

Tuesday night, protest organizer Chaverst was arrested when he and a group of approximately 30 others showed up to demonstrate at the Hoover Public Safety Center. Thursday night, Hoover PD again arrested Chaverst - this time in a Ross Bridge subdivision. He is charged with disorderly conduct for using a bullhorn in a subdivision, according to Alabama Media Group.

Chaverst arrived at the Hoover City Jail at about 9:15 p.m. and several protesters were waiting for Chaverst to be released. He was released just after 10 p.m. After leaving the jail, Chaverst briefly spoke to protesters and reporters outside the jail. He said called the charges he was arrested on “frivolous.”

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“What they’re [police] are looking to do is to try to deter us from the overall scope of things,” Chaverst said.

Since Bradford's death Thanksgiving night, multiple protests have been held in Hoover - including the Galleria, outside Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato's home, Sam's Club, Walmart, Buffalo Wild Wings and on Interstate 459, where protests briefly shut down traffic at the Interstate 65 interchange. Last Thursday night, a group of about 60 took their protest to Ross Bridge and later the YMCA on Highway 150 at South Shades Crest Road.

Bradford and his friend Brian Wilson were involved in an altercation at the Riverchase Galleria Thanksgiving night, and the altercation led to shots being fired. When a Hoover police officer arrived at the scene, he reportedly shot Bradford, who was holding a gun. Initial reports said Bradford was the shooter, but that was determined through the investigation to be false.

The investigation is now in the hands of the state Attorney General's Office, per an announcement by AG Steve Marshall Thursday morning.

Related Story: Attorney General To Take Over EJ Bradford Case

The case has been handed from the Hoover Police Department to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, then to the State Bureau of Investigation - after authorities determined a potential key witness in the mall incident is a cousin of the wife of Jefferson County Sheriff-elect Mark Pettway - and now to Marshall's office.

Photo via Hoover PD