Time For a Change in the Fayette County Attorney’s Office
Fayette County Attorney Larry Roberts has openly defied letters from the ACLU, NAACP and a petition with over 11,000 signatures calling for BLM protest charges to be dropped. With an election coming up on May 17th for the office of Fayette County Attorney, Roberts has shown that after nearly 16 years it is time for a change.
On March 27th, the Bluegrass Activist Alliance held a Fayette County Attorney Forum with current county attorney Larry Roberts and challenger Angela Evans. The informative event gave potential voters a good look at the two candidates differing criminal justice philosophies and platforms. Larry Roberts was recently endorsed by the FOP and Sunday’s forum showed why, as both he and the FOP have fought local reform. Roberts fails to see the need for transparency and equity within the criminal justice system.
“I support the police totally.”
In Roberts’ FOP endorsement speech, he boasts “I support the police totally”, while proudly stating that his daughter is an FBI agent and former state police officer. Yet, this back the blue no matter what mentality appears to effect his ability to objectively use professional discretion.
Despite known problems within law enforcement, including the Lexington Police Department (Culture plagued by racial discrimination. Lawsuit by fired officer blasts Lexington police), Roberts acts with the mindset of “If police charge them, I’m going to prosecute them”, even when the Fayette County Detention Center is reportedly unsafe. Instead of promoting needed changes, Roberts is spreading a false narrative and mischaracterizing protesters that were a catalyst for police accountability and racial justice reforms in Lexington.
“If police charge them, I’m going to prosecute them.”
While Evans finds it ridiculous that protest charges are still pending two years later, because she recognizes the importance of protest and values constitutional rights, The People’s Blueprint says the following about Roberts:
“In response to a question about whether charges against protest leaders from the summer of 2020 were still pending, Larry Roberts let his delusional mindset spew blatant lies.
No one in this city who attended the 2020 protests demanding #LPDAccountability, can say they saw Sarah Williams nor James Woodhead remove people from their car and punch them. Nor are either of them guilty of any of the false accusations Larry Roberts alleges in his response. Williams and Woodhead are the only two people with pending charges stemming from the protests.”
*Several other protesters also continue to face charges from September of 2020, following a grand jury’s failure to indict any officers for the murder of Breonna Taylor.
The full video of the Fayette County Attorney Forum can be found on the Bluegrass Activist Alliance Facebook page.
According to the Elect Angela Evans campaign page, “prosecutors have more control over the criminal justice system than any other criminal justice official.” On May 17th, it will be time to vote for a change in who holds this power within our local criminal justice system.
