Activist who confronted Trustee Andrew Holmes at Dolton meeting released
An activist critical of Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s administration was released from police custody Tuesday evening after being arrested after charging at Trustee Andrew Holmes during Monday’s Village Board meeting.
Jedidiah Brown, who runs a YouTube channel with commentary on Dolton village government and elected officials, was applauded by about 30 other advocates as he triumphantly walked out of the Dolton police station at about 6 p.m. He was far from regretful about quickly moving toward Holmes after he made critical comments directed toward him, leading police to push the two men apart and arrest Brown, Brown said Holmes beckoned him to come closer and cussed at him.
Brown said the village wanted to charge him with a felony after aggressively approaching the trustee, but he got off with a misdemeanor of resisting arrest. Holmes also filed a restraining order against him.
“I didn’t even know I was being arrested — I thought I was being escorted out of the meeting,” Brown said. “But it’s crazy because as I was walking to my seat, (Holmes) told me to ‘come here.’ That’s okay. Let me have my day in court.”
He said he had no intention of becoming violent toward Holmes, but he wanted questions answered regarding allegations made against him.
“For some reason this administration feels untouchable,” Brown said. “They feel they are above the people and above being transparent, and that’s why unfortunately, I’m going to continue to advocate. I’m upset and I’m not stopping.”
Brown has two open complaints in Cook County courts, a stalking no-contact order he filed against Dolton police Chief Lewis Lacey April 30 and another stalking no-contact order filed against him April 9. Both cases are scheduled to be in court again Aug. 21.
A fellow trustee, Tammy Brown, came to the station in support of Brown. She said when the chaos broke out Monday night, she thought, “Oh no, not again. Let us get back to business.”
“I’m very concerned,” she said, thinking to potential conflicts at future Dolton village meetings. “You got to keep our people calm and let us handle the business.”
Still, Jedidiah Brown seemed undeterred, saying he would be willing to go back to jail if needed in order to continue advocating for change within the village government. He said he is “praying” to see the results of former Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot’s investigation into Henyard’s administration’s spending and “let these residents know what they’re dealing with.”
“When it comes to election time, if they don’t go to jail by that time, they damn sure should not be reelected,” he said.
