Activist Ja’mal Green Accused of Trying to Disarm Cop

Chicago, IL — The leader of Saturday's Black Lives Matter protest that vowed a shutdown of the Taste of Chicago festival has been charged with several felonies and is now jailed on $350,000 bail.

Ja’mal Green, 20, has been charged with five felonies, including aggravated battery to a police officer, after a protest during the Taste of Chicago Saturday night. Green is accused of physically engaging officers, and trying to disarm one, while they were arresting other protesters.

Video of the incident surfaced on Facebook, showing Green being elevated to speak to the crowd, who were taking part in a "die-in" to protest the recent police shootings of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota.

A police officer is shown pulling Green down, and a confrontation between a few officers and several protesters ensued. A total of 19 protesters were arrested on Saturday.

A Chicago Tribune photo shows Green with his arm extended, possibly hitting Cmdr. George Devereaux. Reporter Peter Nickeas shared the photo on Twitter.

Green has been charged with two counts of aggravated battery of an officer, two counts of aggravated battery in a public place, one count of attempting to disarm an officer and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer.

It's unclear what transpired; accounts of witnesses and protesters differ from what police allege happened.

Green's allies in the Black Lives Matter movement, Progressive Chicago, posted a video that shows some of what happened Saturday, along with its own commentary in support of Green:

Protesters chanted "let him go" when the police officer grabbed Green. A Chicago police officer involved in the shuffle was seen on another video, yelling "relax."

Reports indicate the incident occurred during the staged "die-in" at the Taste of Chicago, but Green was not arrested at that time. The protest progressed to the Magnificent Mile, where Green was a participant as well.

Those who attended the protest claim Green was called over to police later in the day to "negotiate" the release of another protester. At that time, police arrested Green.

Police accounts of the the incident, which include Green attempting to disarm a police offer, differ vastly from the account of Black Lives Matter Chicago.

The movement claims on Twitter that Green was beaten for 30 hours while in custody. He was "not allowed food or drink," according to the statement.

Green was arraigned on the charges Monday afternoon.

Photo via Facebook