Phoenix activist arrested after protest to be released on bond

Local activist to be released on bond

A man arrested following a protest in Phoenix will be released from jail after a judge set a bond for his release on Oct. 12.

PHOENIX - A man who was arrested following a protest earlier this month appeared in court for a bail hearing.

Lee Percy Christian has been behind bars since Oct. 3. His family claims the 27-year-old was arrested while sitting in his car.

A lawyer for the family says Christian was pulled out of the vehicle at gunpoint and arrested on charges of unlawful assembly. And since Christian has an open case from a previous arrest stemming from protests back in July, the new charges made him uneligible for bail.

On Oct. 12, a judge reversed course and set a $1,000 bond for Christian's release, but his attorney and family are saying more needs to be done to stop what they're calling "political prosecution."

"I have to say that bond being set in Percy's case is just the beginning of justice," said attorney Christina Carter. "The justice needs to continue with these charges to be dropped against all of these protestors and with the political prosecution that we have seen."

"We have an opportunity to change the system and to demand change and until the change happens, we will demand that there by change made," said Christian's father, Lee Percy.

Christian's family is now calling on the Maricopa County Attorney's Office to drop the charges, and discipline and fire officers who target protestors.