A Jersey City mother who was escorted from a school board meeting in handcuffs and charged with defiant trespass was cleared of wrongdoing in court earlier this week.
Jersey City Municipal Court Judge Cynthia Jackson dismissed the charge against the parent, the mother of a special education student, on Tuesday after the prosecutor said the city would not proceed with the case, according to the Jersey City Times.
The mother was handcuffed and arrested in May after she allegedly shouted from the audience and refused to voluntarily leave the school board meeting.
The arrest prompted criticism from several officials in Jersey City, including at least three city council members and two school board members.
“The government attempted to shut down her point of view by arresting her and attempting to chill not only her speech, but the speech of others,” Leo J. Hurley, one of the mother’s two attorneys, told NJ.com on Wednesday.
In court, the municipal prosecutor told the judge that while the parent’s “refusal of leaving the meeting after multiple warnings of disruption was unlawful,” the city “also recognizes that this is a community matter involving a mother and a family with a special needs child,” the Jersey City Times reported.
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