The Charleston Five are five men - Kenneth Jefferson, Rick Simmons, Peter Washington, Elijah Ford, and Jason Edgerton - who were brought up on
felony
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
charges of
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...
to incite a
riot on January 19, 2000 in
Charleston,
South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
.
The Five were longshoremen and
union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
members of Local 1422 of the
International Longshoremen's Association
The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) is a North American labor union representing longshore workers along the East Coast of the United States and Canada, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, and inland waterways. The ILA h ...
. They were peacefully protesting a
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
freight company's use of non-union workers on the Charleston docks when a fight broke out between
picketing workers and a police force. The Charleston Five were arrested along with four others and were held on felony charges which could have carried a
prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...
sentence of up to 10 years.
The Protest
On 19 January a ship from
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
Nordana's shipping Lines docked in the Charleston port and employed 19 non-unionized workers to unload the cargo. This company that had used the services of the
Charleston Union Labors for 23 years had decided to end this association in 1999.
It was the region of the union
International Longshoremen's Association
The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) is a North American labor union representing longshore workers along the East Coast of the United States and Canada, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, and inland waterways. The ILA h ...
(ILA) local 1422 and they decided to picket against it. With this kind of preparation and continuous provocation by the police, including racist taunts, the picketing longshoremen got in touch with ILA 1422A mechanics union and Locals 1771. By nightfall there were almost 130 longshoremen picketing, though some media suggested the number could have been up to 300. Then as the leadership went ahead to figure out what the intention was, the protesters threw rocks, bottles, and railroad ties at the police.
The Five's arrests set off a firestorm of political implications and finger pointing and allegedly some South Carolina officials were using the arrests as political fulcrums to further their careers. In October 2001, the case's prosecutor, South Carolina Attorney General
publicly compared the Charleston Five to the terrorists who had destroyed the twin towers and world trade center the month before. The backlash from this comment was such that Condon soon removed himself as prosecutor and appointed 1st Circuit Solicitor,
as his replacement.
With mounting worldwide protest and international solidarity for the Charleston 5, they were finally freed of all charges in November 2001, after one year of trial, throughout which they were kept under house arrest.