WMRA previously reported on a group of anti-Trump protesters who were issued citations and warnings for "non-travel" use of the I-81 overpass bridge in Woodstock. About a week later, another group of protesters assembled on a different overpass in Shenandoah County – and two of them were arrested. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
[interstate traffic, wind blowing]
On Labor Day morning, about a dozen people gathered on the overpass in Quicksburg. Mike Dart, who grew up half a mile from the bridge, bore a sign that read "No King Trump." He and his wife, Debbie, carpooled with another couple from where they live in Page County. The Darts say most of their group, like them, were over age 70.
MIKE DART: Neither of us are in any political party. We have objections to Trump.
DEBBIE DART: I've never, ever participated in anything like this until this year, and I just have felt the urge because of … the rights being taken away from so many, and I'm more concerned, not about myself as much, as I am the younger generations.
Mike is a retired probation and parole officer, special education teacher, and substance abuse counselor. Debbie retired after 25 years as the director of Choices Council on Domestic Violence in Page County. Another woman on the bridge that day was Shelley Gingerich, a retired respiratory therapist and realtor who lives in Woodstock.
SHELLEY GINGERICH: I fly an upside-down, American flag in distress.
The Darts said they'd gathered at the Quicksburg bridge before, had spoken with Mount Jackson police officers, and been allowed to stay. They said a town police officer spoke with them again on Labor Day.
DEBBIE DART: They were only concerned about our safety. He had no problem with us being on the bridge. … He shook my hand. … Within minutes, we saw these state troopers … rapidly coming up the interstate and getting off at the exit.
A photo provided to WMRA shows nine law enforcement vehicles in the frame. Mike estimates there were a dozen state police cars in total, and one police dog.
MIKE DART: That may have been brought to maybe gather or find our dentures when this all happened, I'm not sure. … In all my years in law enforcement, I've never seen this, ever. The state police sergeant … walked rapidly towards me, yelling … "get off the bridge now or I will arrest you." … I said, "I believe that's an unlawful order. I believe I can legally be here."
GINGERICH: I decided that I wanted to remain. I thought it was my First Amendment right to peacefully demonstrate.
State troopers arrested Mike Dart and Shelley Gingerich.
GINGERICH: They handcuffed me behind my back, which – I've got really bad shoulders, [laughs], and it hurt a lot, and I told them how much it hurt.
MIKE DART: They took me over to the hood of the car, very polite … but I witnessed, within five feet, Shelley being aggressively handcuffed. … I have seen and participated in countless arrests as a probation and parole officer. I can only say that it was excessive and unnecessary to do that to that elderly lady.
GINGERICH: I squawked about that enough, I guess, to where – I'm assuming somebody felt sorry for me because they did let me have my hands in front, but it was very painful and it bruised me.
At this point, Debbie, Mike’s wife, had moved off the bridge, and was talking to a trooper with other protesters.
DEBBIE DART: They said, "come on, don't you think this is political?" … He said, "I think it is." … But then he said, "give you an example – if you were going across the bridge with a sign that said 'I don't like red' or 'I don't like cheeseburgers,' I don't think anybody would bother you."
WMRA submitted a FOIA request to the state police for any audio or video recordings of troopers interacting with the protesters. That request was denied because the records "are part of an active criminal investigative file."
Troopers took Mike and Shelley to a holding cell at the Shenandoah County Sheriff's Office. But they didn't interact with any deputies, and Major Kolter A. Stroop with the sheriff's office told WMRA their department was not involved with the arrests. Mount Jackson Police Chief Keith Cowart referred all questions to the state police.
Dart says they were kept there for a few hours while troopers discussed with their sergeant and a magistrate what crimes to actually charge them with.
State Police Public Relations Coordinator Matthew Demlein told WMRA via email that the troopers initially sought trespassing charges from a magistrate, which were not granted at that time. Dart and Gingerich were finally charged with obstruction of justice without use of force or threats, and released. Demlein wrote that "following further review with the commonwealth's attorney," trespassing and traffic violation charges were obtained later.
MIKE DART: I was never permitted to see a magistrate after a physical arrest on a class one misdemeanor. I've never seen that in my entire career. I have every reason to believe there is something, certainly unethical, and probably illegal about that.
Virginia law states that a person who is arrested without a warrant will be taken before a magistrate, judge, or court clerk, who will determine whether there's probable cause to issue a warrant or summons. WMRA reached out to the Shenandoah County Commonwealth's Attorney, Elizabeth Cooper, and has not heard back yet.
Both Shelley and Mike say they plan to fight the charges.
GINGERICH: We owe it to our children and our grandchildren to work as hard as we can to make the world … be the kind of world we want them to be in.
They each have separate hearings coming up in October.
