Deputies arrest 14 interfaith leaders who occupied Oakland courthouse

Fourteen interfaith leaders were arrested after occupying the lobby of Oakland’s Wiley Manuel Courthouse for more than three hours Wednesday afternoon, calling for Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley to drop charges against a group of protesters who chained themselves to a BART train on Black Friday a year ago.

The so-called “Black Friday 14” disrupted service on BART for two hours on Nov. 28, 2014, locking themselves to a train in West Oakland Station to denounce police violence against African Americans.

While the small group of religious leaders linked arms and formed a circle in front of the courthouse elevators, another group rallied outside.

“I find it difficult to accept that other people in similar circumstances have not been charged for shutting down freeways, administration buildings, or even this sit-in at the courthouse,” Riley said.

Mollie Costello, an outspoken member of the Black Friday 14 who helped organize the event Wednesday, said that the O’Malley never went after a multi-racial group of activists who chained themselves to Oakland’s Police Administration Building in December, two weeks after the Black Friday action.

[...] that idea didn’t sit well with Costello, who left a career in nursing so she could devote her life to protesting the criminal justice system.