MIAMI _ One of the chief organizers of Black Lives Matters protests in Miami is facing felony charges after he was accused of stealing a flag from a car during a recent Cubans for Trump caravan in downtown Miami.
Jonathan Gartrelle, 31, has been one of the most visible protest figures over weeks of protests in Miami over police brutality. He was jailed Monday night and released early Tuesday after posting bond.
The arrest comes as the Miami police department has stepped up arrests on Black Lives Matter protesters in recent days, charging those they say are obstructing traffic. Gartrelle himself was struck by an SUV during the Cubans for Trump caravan on Saturday after stepping in front of the vehicle on the roadway, although police claimed he did not want to pursue charges.
Gartrelle is charged with strong arm robbery and escape, both felonies, as well as misdemeanor counts of resisting an officer without violence and obstructing a public street.
It was unclear whether Gartelle had retained an attorney on Tuesday. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
The arrest stemmed from a small Black Lives Matter protest that encountered the Cubans for Trump caravan last Saturday.
News footage showed Gartrelle walked into the street and being struck by an SUV. It appeared he jumped, landing his backside on the hood, and rolled off. According to police, he approached officers and said "I don't want to do anything" after being hit.
A Miami police officer said he then saw Gartrelle rejoin the crowd on the sidewalk, then go back into traffic and "was observed removing flags fixed to the passing vehicles, damaging them and discarding them in the roadway," the report said.
The officer wrote that he tried arrested Gartrelle, who ran away. Later, a woman who had been in the passenger seat of a vehicle told police that Gartelle was the one who ripped a flag from her hand, the report said.
Miami police used videos on Gartelle's Instagram account to build a case against him, the arrest report shows. He was arrested on Monday at the scene of another downtown protest.
Nationwide protests unfolded after the May 25 death of George Floyd, after a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on the man's neck.
Although protests in Miami have decreased in size, tensions with police have increased, with Miami cops arresting more and more people in recent days.
In one large protest early Sunday evening police arrested 35 people on North Miami Avenue and 6th Street for blocking traffic. They were all charged with obstruction of a public street, highway, road or sidewalk.
The unrest prompted Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina to post a video on the department's Twitter page showing an arrest of an organizer from different perspectives.
"She said she was targeted because she was an organizer. That is not true," Colina said, pointing out how the woman continued to block traffic after police told her to move several times.
