Illustration of Jasmine Richards created by supporters

Last week we reported on the case of 28-year-old Black Lives Matter activist Jasmine Richards. She was convicted of attempting to unlawfully remove a suspect from police custody … a statute identified as California Penal Code number 405-A. 

It stems from an incident last year where Richards tried to intercede in the arrest of another young woman. Richards had been attending a nearby, but unrelated, Black Lives Matter protest.

What has generated intense interest is that the law was formerly known in California law as “lynching.” This morning, Richards was in the Pasadena Superior Courthouse for sentencing, and we spoke to Eddie Rivera, community editor with the Pasadena News Now. He began by laying out the sentence, handed down by Judge Elaine Lu.