New Era Cleveland leaders acquitted in extortion trial
The big picture: The resounding not guilty verdict closes out a lengthy trial that sparked citywide debate over race, activism, and the right to self-police.
Catch up quick: The case centered on an August 2024 protest outside a Lee-Harvard gas station, which county prosecutors alleged was an armed attempt to extort and intimidate the owners.
The defense claimed Tolbert and New Era members were staging a constitutionally protected boycott as part of broader community-based safety work.
Zoom out: The armed nature of New Era's activities — including safety patrols and citizen arrests — led the prosecution to characterize the organization as a vigilante militia.
Yes, but: The organization argues this work is vital in neighborhoods where traditional policing has fallen short, and that the charges against Tolbert, Austreeia Everson and Rameer Askew were a form of targeted legal retaliation.
State of play: Throughout the trial, the defense managed to discredit the prosecution's key witnesses and expose negligent police work.
One of the more cinematic developments concerned a gunshot that rang out during the 2024 gas station incident, which prosecutors had pinned on New Era.
But witness testimony and police bodycam footage suggested it was one of the gas station owners — not a New Era activist — who fired the shot.
A police detective admitted she'd missed key moments when reviewing surveillance footage and never conducted gunshot residue analysis to test the owner's firearm.
What they're saying: Defense attorney Peter Pattakos called the trial "one of the most farcical and unconstitutional prosecutions in American history" in a Facebook post.
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