Protesters outside a federal courthouse in Brooklyn condemned a Marine veteran on trial for allegedly using a chokehold on a woman during a 2017 arrest, as the case went to the jury on Wednesday.
The protesters, who numbered around 20, chanted slogans and held signs reading “Justice for Ayanna” and “Stop Police Brutality” outside the courthouse, where a jury is deliberating the fate of the Marine veteran, 35-year-old Michael Enright.
Enright, who was a Marine Corps infantryman, is accused of using a chokehold on Ayanna Jones, a 27-year-old woman, during a confrontation outside a Brooklyn bar in July 2017. Jones suffered a broken neck and was hospitalized for several days after the incident.
The prosecution has argued that Enright’s use of the chokehold was excessive and illegal, while Enright’s lawyers have claimed that he acted in self-defense and that Jones was the aggressor.
The protesters, who were largely made up of community activists and supporters of Jones, demanded that Enright be held accountable for his actions. “This is a case about police brutality and a culture of violence that has to stop,” said one protester.
The jury began deliberating on Wednesday morning, and is expected to continue deliberating throughout the day.
