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Missoula city attorney investigating courthouse rally incident

Posted at 2:06 PM, Jun 23, 2020
and last updated 2020-06-23 16:06:22-04

The city of Missoula says they are continuing their investigation into the detainment of a person at a Black Lives Matter rally two weeks ago to determine if criminal charges will be pressed.

Missoula police told KPAX that during the rally outside of the Missoula County Courthouse on June 5, armed attendees tackled and subdued someone that the attendees and organizers deemed a threat. MPD said that they took the detained victim in to city hall to interview him and determined he was no threat.

MPD also says that they interviewed the armed attendees and protest organizers who told them that the male victim had been acting suspiciously, and after being confronted he had sprinted at the crowd. That’s when armed attendees told police they took the victim down on the courthouse lawn so they could “protect protesters.”

The Missoula County Attorney’s Office was the first to receive the case and determined no immediate felony charges were warranted. The case was then sent to the city attorney’s office to investigate the matter completely.

City attorney Keithi Worthington is expected to have a decision this week.