Politics & Government

4 Arrested In Nashville During Vigil For Charlottesville Victims

What started as a vigil at Bicentennial Mall turned into a march to First Tennessee Park and ended with four arrested.

NASHVILLE, TN — A quickly organized Nashville vigil for those dead and wounded during Charlottesville's "Unite The Right" rally turned into a march to First Tennessee Park and ended with four arrested.

Organized by The Independent Progressive and announced just before 5 p.m., the vigil was intended "to show solidarity to those who lost their lives or were injured" when the driver of a Dodge Challenger, believed to be 20-year-old Alex Fields, plowed into a group of counter-protesters opposing the rally, which included marchers waving Nazi flags and chanting Nazi slogans. One person, 32-year-old Heather Hayer, was killed and dozens were injured. Fields, whose former high school teacher told the AP he was "infatuated with Nazis" and had "radical ideas on race," faces murder charges in the attack.

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Back in Nashville, four people were arrested when the vigil left Bicentennial Mall State Park and marched to nearby First Tennessee Park, home of the Nashville Sounds.

The four are:

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  • Justin Bautista-Jones, 21
  • Evan Bunch, 20
  • Kelsey Lemmer, 25
  • Iris Nevers, 19

All four are charged with disorderly conduct. Lemmer faces an additional charge of resisting arrest. Nevers is also charged with resisting arrest, criminal trespass, possession of drug paraphernalia and casual possession of marijuana. All four were released on their own recognizance.

According to the arrest report for Nevers, the marchers attempted to enter First Tennessee Park once Saturday night's game concluded.

Nevers "was encountered initially climbing the fence at the Sounds stadium on the 5th Avenue side. She was warned not to climb the fence and advised of trespassing laws," according to her arrest report.

"She later marched with her group to the front entrance of the stadium where she sat down and blocked the stairway as patrons were in mass egress from a baseball game. She was advised to remove herself from the property. Officers advised her she was trespassing and to stop blocking the stairway. She verbally and physically refused to leave. She then blocked the gate from closing as security officers tried to stop her group from entering the location. When she refused to leave, she was taken into custody by officer weeks and other officers. She physically refused to put her hands behind her back and physically resisted the officers from placing her hands behind her back. Force had to be exerted in order to arrest her and remove her from the property," the affidavit continues.

Police said they found a small amount of marijuana, a grinder and a small pipe in her purse.

Bautista-Jones "was told by police not to jump in front of moving marked police cars. The defendant then jumped in front of a moving patrol car causing a danger to him self and the action served no legitimate purpose," according to his arrest report.

The arrest report for Lemmer described the protest as "racially charged," but did not elaborate on why or how the arresting officer made that conclusion. Lemmer "sat down on the steps and scooted herself into arresting officers" as they were taking another protester into custody, according to the report.

"[Lemmer] then began to stick her legs out as additional arresting officers were walking by causing one officer to trip. Police identified themselves to the defendant as police officers and ordered the defendant to stop interfering. The defendant continued to create a disturbance and was taken into custody for disorderly conduct. As the defendant was being taken into custody, she began to resist by using her body weight to try and pull away," the affidavit continued.

Bunch's arrest report was not immediately available.

Image via Shutterstock

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