Trial for Commission Protesters in 2021 reset for May 17

By Mike Steely
Senior Writer
steelym@knoxfocus.com
The trial of four protesters charged with disputing a Knox County Commission meeting in April 2021 was originally set to begin today, April 8, but is now scheduled for May 17 in Sessions Criminal Court at 1:30.
Hearings and motions were heard last Wednesday and a motion to dismiss charges was denied.
The protesters, including former political candidate Constance Every, are charged with loudly interrupting the commission session with an electric bullhorn and a loud siren. The meeting went into recess while security officers regained control of the fifty or so protesters who were protesting against the shooting death of student Anthony Thompson Jr. inside Austin-East High School.
Every, who was charged with leading the protest, was detained along with several other people. The four being tried before Criminal Sessions Judge Hector Sanchez are Every, Rev. Calvin Skinner, Gaven Guinn and Aaron Valentine.
The trial is the first to be heard after three years and may be followed with a May 17 trial of Every and Skinner for disrupting a Knoxville City Council meeting in May of 2021.