JOHNSON CITY (WJHL) – Dozens of people were gathered Thursday on the campus of East Tennessee State University for a peaceful protest –just one day after police charged a student for trying to provoke demonstrators at a Black Lives Matter event.
University officials told News Channel 11, on Wednesday Tristan Rettke was wearing a gorilla mask and began handing out bananas to students holding Black Lives Matter signs at Borchuck Plaza.
Previous story: ETSU student charged after wearing gorilla mask, handing out bananas during Black Lives Matter event
Rettke appeared in Sessions Court Thursday afternoon for an arraignment hearing on charge of civil rights intimidation. His next court date has been set for Nov. 9 at 1:30 p.m.
During his arraignment Rettke listened as the judge read the report of what happened Wednesday. The judge said Rettke told campus police he wanted to provoke protestors at the Black Lives Matter rally.
WJHL talked with District Attorney General Tony Clark about what has to be proven for Rettke to get convicted of the charge against him .
“Did that in and of itself, was that an intrusion of their rights to the point they could not exercise or protest freely as guaranteed by the constitution so that’s the question of intimidation did it cross that line,” Clark said.
Earlier Thursday, Elizabeth Kubel joined News Channel 11 at Noon for an update at ETSU’s campus where dozens of students were gathered in unity following the incident.
On Wednesday, students and faculty gathered inside the Culp Center on ETSU’s campus. The auditorium was packed as students, faculty and staff spoke about their concerns and how they can move forward from Wednesday’s events.