5/5/2014
By Ivan Pereira
An Occupy Wall Street protester was convicted in Manhattan Criminal Court Monday for striking a cop during a Zuccotti Park demonstration.
Dozens of Cecily McMillan’s supporters packed the courtroom as the jury deliberated the verdict and shouted out in anger after the 25-year-old graduate student was found guilty of second-degree assault. McMillan, who faces up to seven years in prison, elbowed Officer Grantley Bovell in the face during a March 17, 2012 protest at the park where dozens of people were arrested for celebrating the six-month anniversary of the movement’s beginning.
The defendant, who was remanded Monday until her May 19 sentencing, contended she didn’t know Bovell was an officer and only reacted after he allegedly accosted her and grabbed her breast.
McMillan’s attorneys couldn’t be reached for comment but they are expected to appeal the decision.
