Activists and Elected Officials Rally in Philadelphia to #FreeMeekMill

By Sameer Rao Apr 16, 2018

#FreeMeekMill trended on Twitter today (April 16) as supporters of incarcerated Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill gathered at the Philadelphia Criminal Justice Center to demand his release. 

Justice League NYC organized the rally outside of the legal facility. It’s the latest organized action to free the MC, who received a sentence of two to four years in state detention last November. The sentencing judge, Common Pleas Court Judge Genece E. Brinkley, justified the ruling by citing various probation violations for 2008 drug and gun charges. Rolling Stone published an investigative piece in March that included Mill’s comments on his incarceration, as well as several other Philadelphia residents who allegedly found themselves on the wrong side of Brinkley’s vindictiveness. The article also noted that Reggie Graham, a police officer who testified that he saw Mill sell crack cocaine in 2007, has since been identified by the district attorney’s office as habitually dishonest on the stand. Mill told Page Six last week that he sees himself as a "political prisoner," and elected officials like Philadelphia district attorney Larry Krasner have supported his calls for release on bail.

The action featured speeches from other local figures like journalist/activist Marc Lamont Hill, State Senator Sharif Street and Lieutenant Governor Mike Stack. USA Today/The Associated Press reported that the rally took place as prosecutors from Krasner’s office argued in court for the expungement of Mill’s convictions—a call that Mill’s attorneys related to the protesters, but Brinkley ultimately rejected. Brinkley instead set a new hearing for June.  

Check out highlights from the action below:

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Criminal justice issues in Philadelphia received an additional spotlight this weekend after video emerged of two Black men being arrested at a Starbucks cafe in the wealthy Rittenshouse section of the city. 

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