ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — A court has found a Civil Rights leader and reverend not guilty after he was arrested and charged during a demonstration in Graham in 2020.

Reverend Gregory Drumwright was initially found guilty of resisting and obstruction of a public officer as well as failure to disperse in September of 2021.

Drumwright was among several people who ended up in jail after police pepper-sprayed a group of people during a March to the Polls event.

The conviction was appealed and a judge dismissed the failure to disperse count. On Monday, Drumwright was found not guilty on this final count.

Drumwright’s office released a statement on Monday, expressing thanks to the jury that cleared him of these charges and discussing a desire for change in Alamance County and beyond for how demonstrators are treated by law enforcement.

“We hope Drumwright’s case will serve as a guide for law enforcement to consider as it encounters other peaceful demonstrations. In addition, in the future, we hope prosecutors will reflect on this case as it addresses other cases that arose from the March for Change demonstration. In fact, we call on the Alamance County District Attorney to immediately dismiss all failure to disperse charges that stemmed from the March for Change that was held in October 2020.”

The Office of Rev. Drumwright

The release goes on to state that criminal justice reform in Alamance County is still their goal, noting a 2012 Department of Justice investigation that found the sheriff’s office under Sheriff Terry Johnson disproportionately targeted minorities.

You can read the full statement here.