South Carolina judge upholds activist's 4-year prison term

A judge in South Carolina has ruled that a pregnant Black activist serving four years in prison over comments she made to police during racial justice protests in the summer of 2020 won't get a lesser sentence.

A jury found Brittany Martin guilty of breaching the peace in a high and serious way. Martin's attorneys were concerned about her health and her unborn child. The groups that deal with race got involved.

The judge said that Martin's previous criminal convictions contributed to her original sentence.

In November 2020, an Iowa judge sentenced Martin to two years of supervised release for leaving the scene of an injury and causing bodily harm after her teenage son accused her of purposely hitting him with her SUV. Previous convictions include possession of a short-barreled shotgun and public disorderly conduct.

Martin has been on parole at least six times, according to a filing by the assistant solicitor.

Probation has not been a deterrent to further criminal activity. In this case, an active prison sentence was appropriate.

If you are found guilty of breaching the peace in South Carolina, you could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.

Police body camera recordings show Martin speaking to police officers during multiple days of demonstrations.

Some of us aren't hurt. Martin told the officers that some of them would be hurting. We are prepared to die for this. We didn't like it anymore. It's time to die for the blue. I am prepared to die for the black.

According to the filing, Martin's actions caused the city to impose a curfew and a local business to lose money.

In May, a jury acquitted Martin of inciting a riot, but they did not find her guilty of threatening public officials.

The lawyers for Martin argued that the sentence was stiff compared to the ones given to the rioters. Four years is excessive and she will appeal, said her attorney in a Wednesday statement.

It wasn't easy to compare federal convictions from the Jan. 6 riots with the specifics of the case.

That's right.

Pollard is a corps member for the Associated Press. A program called Report for America places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.