Charges against nearly two dozen protesters arrested at the Kentucky Capitol in March are moving forward, as of Tuesday morning.
The 20 people who were charged made their first court appearances Tuesday. All 20 pleaded not guilty to a sole count of third-degree criminal trespassing before Franklin District Judge Kathy Margeot.
They were arrested inside the House of Representatives gallery March 29 while protesting against Senate Bill 150, which banned gender-affirming care for trans youth.
In addition to banning puberty-blockers, hormones and surgeries for kids under 18, Senate Bill 150 bans lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation, prevents transgender students from using the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity and stops school districts from requiring teachers to use a student’s pronouns if they don’t align with their sex assigned at birth.
Nearly a dozen attorneys appeared on behalf of the clients, who are now scheduled to reappear in court for a pretrial conference at 10 a.m. on May 30.
There have been calls for the protesters’ charges to be cleared. The Fairness Campaign, a Kentucky advocacy group for LGBTQ rights, tweeted support for the protesters being pardoned. It’s unclear if that will be the case. It was previously reported 19 individuals were arrested, but KSP later confirmed 20 were charged.
Attorneys present at Tuesday’s proceedings said they have not yet spoken with Franklin County Attorney Max Comley about dropping the charges.
Comley didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment by phone and email prior to publication.
Comley told the judge Tuesday he wouldget the chance to speak with arresting KSP officers before the upcoming May court hearing.
Rebecca Grant, one of the defendants in the case, told the Herald-Leader she plans to fight her charges. In addition to criminal trespassing, Grant, a disabled war veteran, was charged with having prescription pills not in their proper container.
She said she took part in the protests to stand up for transgender children, and said having access to gender affirming care as a child would have been transformative for them.
“My trans siblings and allies showed up to the state capitol where we do not have representation in the legislature,” Grant said. “There are no trans legislators. There are barely any gay, bi, or lesbian legislators either. We showed up and when they presented a bill that would discriminate against trans children, we used our free speech to speak out against that.
“Trans people are part of this community, we deserve to have a voice. We deserve to have equal opportunities, and until we have those same opportunities, especially medical access, we will keep on speaking up.”
The defendants were among the hundreds who showed up to the steps of the Capitol Annex to protest the overriding of Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of Senate Bill 150. Once the legislature gaveled in, protesters moved inside and could be heard chanting from the halls.
Capitol security and state police struggled to remove the protesters from the gallery, but then resorted to using zip ties to take the protesters into custody and lead them outside of the Capitol.
“KSP gave each individual the option to leave without any enforcement action or be placed under arrest,” Capt. Paul Blanton, a spokesperson for KSP, said in a previous statement.