DURHAM, N.C. (Sept. 23, 2025 — Criminal costs versus 3 individuals that were apprehended during an April university protest over North Carolina Central University’s (NCCU) inadequate housing problems were rejected Monday in Durham Region Area Court.
The State voluntarily rejected the costs against two trainees and one teacher after a district court judge refuted their attempt to delay the situations, despite a previous court order stating they would either be tried or dismissed on September 22, 2025 Southern Union for Social Justice (SCSJ) represented all 3 people.
The dismissals are vindication for Daniel Cole Atwood, Jose Andres Estrella, and Moriah Flowers, that spent over five months facing the after effects from the university’s aggressive feedback to a campus demonstration. They follow an earlier triumph for transparency, which came after SCSJ successfully sought the Durham County Superior Court to launch the complete police body-worn camera footage from the objection , currently available to the general public
“This judgment indicates our customers can ultimately move forward with their lives and focus on their researches,” claimed Dominique Erney, Advice for Justice System Reform at SCSJ “They should never have been compelled to sustain this ordeal, and we will certainly continue to fight for the right to protest.”
College cops– consisting of some that traveled from Church Hillside to NCCU’s school– responded April 16, 2025, to a calm protest entailing scores of students and some faculty. Bodycam footage later verified the police failed to appropriately provide dispersal orders prior to ordering SCSJ’s customers and placing them under apprehension wherefore was authorized conduct shielded by the First Change.
In spite of the victory in court Monday, the apprehension and prosecution of Atwood, Estrella, and Flowers had substantial and unsafe repercussions. Atwood, a complement teacher, was quickly suspended prior to any investigation. Estrella, a former NCCU student currently enrolled at Durham Technology, was outlawed from school. Flowers, a present NCCU student, was forced out from her student real estate one week right into the existing term.
“This case serves as a prime example of exactly how to mess up a student objection: a heavy-handed feedback using cops, hostile arrests, and pushing criminal prosecutions despite clear deals to participate in constructive discussions and corrective justice,” stated Janki Kaneria, Advise for Justice System Reform at SCSJ. “Despite the court victory, preventable and unnecessary injury has actually been brought upon on our customers.”
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Southern Union for Social Justice , established in 2007, companions with communities of color and financially disadvantaged communities in the South to protect and advance their political, social, and financial civil liberties via the combination of lawful advocacy, study, organizing, and communications. Learn more at southerncoalition.org and follow our work on Facebook , Instagram, and LinkedIn