As the Baltimore Uprising continued last night, a highly regarded protester, Joseph Kent, 21, was seen abducted by the National Guard on live television.
A student of the HBCU Morgan State University, Kent was seen yesterday helping clear teens off the street after the 10 p.m. curfew the city of Baltimore enforced the curfew after Monday’s protesting for Freddie Gray became violent.
Journalist Wesley Lowery of The Washington Post tweeted: “I watched Joseph Kent spend hours trying to clear young people from street & keep them from rioting last night in Baltimore.” But in a startling video clip, Kent is seen approached by a black HumVee. When he puts his hands up, National Guard troops surround Kent and throw him inside the vehicle. After that he’s no longer seen.
At 2:30 a.m. this morning Stephen Beatty, a Baltimore attorney, tweeted that Kent was at the Baltimore Central Booking & Intake Center. Beatty also shared that Kent’s name was not on the list of people being presented for bail review.
The Baltimore police and National Guard have not confirmed why Kent was taken into custody or acknowledged that he was abducted in the first place. Author Méta Smith tweeted:
I just called the Northwestern District of the Baltimore PD. They “have no idea” where or who #JosephKent is but keep calling. 410-396-2466
— Méta Smith (@MetaSmith) April 29, 2015
So, has anyone actually seen or spoken to #JosephKent? A tweet from his non-lawyer means nothing. Where is he and how is he? — Méta Smith (@MetaSmith) April 29, 2015
Users of the social media platform Twitter have also questioned Kent’s whereabouts and well being:
if you had reason to arrest him, you wouldn’t have had to hide it with a hummer, would you? #WhereIsJosephKent — LADY TOADSTOOL (@parodical_) April 29, 2015
Buzzfeed reports Beatty is seeking for Kent’s hearing to be expedited and that Police Commissioner Anthony Batts will release him on recognizance. Batts noted ten people were arrested Tuesday—two for looting, one for disorderly conduct and seven for violating the curfew order.
Below is a video of the incident.
via HLNTV
