Two activists were arrested during a protest aimed at closing the eviction proceedings in the Jackson County courthouse in Kansas City, Missouri, a tenant rights group said Thursday.
The protest, which took place in courtrooms, via conference calls and at an out-of-court rally, came nearly two months after an eviction moratorium was lifted due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The group, KC Tenants, said that approximately 1,600 cases had been heard in court since June 1.
One of the activists, Jenay Manley, 28, said in an interview that she was arrested on suspicion of intrusion. Manley was later released on her own recognition, said group director Tara Raghuveer. A second activist was also released.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, which the group said took the activists into custody, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Manley said she was one of a dozen activists who took turns entering the courts where the proceedings were scheduled. When the judge began to speak, Manley said he got up and repeated the phrase: “All evictions are violent.”
“If we’re going to say that black lives matter, we have to make sure those lives can be lived,” said Manley.
Manley said urgent action is needed, pointing to a friend, Tiana Caldwell 42, a two-time cancer survivor who lost her job in March and was facing eviction after falling behind on rent.
In an interview, Caldwell said the case against her was dismissed after she and her husband, who had also lost their job in May, paid thousands of dollars in back rent.
Caldwell, who was a business instructor, said she is not sure if the school will reopen.
“We are thousands of us,” he said Thursday. “The court sessions are getting bigger. This has to stop.”
Raghuveer said the court was unable to process new cases after Thursday’s action, but in an email, a court spokeswoman said the judges were able to go through his records.
In a statement, the court criticized the protesters, saying they “interfered with the rights of the parties trying to participate in those proceedings, including the lawyers who were there representing the rights of the same tenants whom the protesters were allegedly advocating.” “
The protest came as advocates warn of a “tsunami” of evictions across the United States as moratoriums are lifted and pandemic unemployment assistance expires under the CARES Act. The $ 600 per week payment, which has been a lifeline for millions of Americans as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the economy, expires Friday.
Some Senate Republicans have tried to cut that payment to $ 200, although Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said “there is no consensus on anything” within the party.
