CLEVELAND (AP) — Two people who used megaphones during a protest outside a Cleveland restaurant are accused of causing permanent hearing loss to an eatery employee and have been charged with felony assault.
Cleveland.com reports 25-year-old Josiah Douglas and 21-year-old Sydney Yahner were indicted last week on charges related to a protest in July about lax pandemic safety practices at the restaurant in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood and others under the same ownership.
Both have pleaded not guilty.
The pair’s attorney, Peter Pattakos, has called the charges an “outrageous attack” on their First Amendment right to engage in peaceful protest.