Community members on Friday rallied outside the downtown San Diego courthouse, calling for justice for several men charged with “criminal street gang” conspiracy charges.
The rally came an hour before rapper Brandon “Tiny Doo” Duncan was supposed to appear in court.
Protesters believe Duncan is unfairly charged and said in an announcement of the rally that the chargers were an “unjust and inaccurate documentation of black men as gang members.”
The rally was organized by the Black Student Justice Coalition.
“The DA is arguing that everyone in a gang is automatically guilty because everyone in the gang benefits from any crime committed by another gang member,” said Margaret Dooley-Sammuli of the ACLU of San Diego. “That’s dead wrong.”
Duncan faces conspiracy charges because prosecutors say his rap lyrics promote gang violence.
The district attorney has said Duncan can be charged under a section of the penal code approved by California voters in 2000 because he profited from these gang activities through album sales, even though there is no evidence connecting him to the actual shootings.
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He and nine others are accused of conspiracy related to two dozen shootings in San Diego starting in 2012.
Duncan’s trial is expected to begin in April; his hearing on Friday was a status hearing.
Still, protesters in a statement called the charges an “overreach by the district attorney.”
