Nine people have been indicted for illegally hanging banners March 4 at Procter & Gamble headquarters in downtown Cincinnati.
The Hamilton County Prosecutor's office says the nine, from Maryland, Washington DC, Illinois, California and New York, are charged with burglary and vandalism. If convicted of all charges, they face the possibility of 9 ½ years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
The charged:
- Maryland resident Marcella Anne Largess
- Washington, D.C. resident Jesse Britton Coleman
- Illinois resident Michael Herbert
- California resident Charles Ryan Long
- California resident Sean Wilder Obrien
- New York resident Denise Rodriguez
- California resident Tyler David Wilkerson
- Maryland resident Nima Jason Shahidi
- California resident Tyler Leanne Sanville
Prosecutors say they entered the highly secured Procter & Gamble building shortly after 1:00 p.m. on March 4 using fake identification and dressed in business suits with rolling suitcases. They went to a specific floor and were able to open the windows and rappel down the building to unfurl banners protesting the way P & G secures palm oil for use in some of its products.
Some of the defendants were hanging from rope or wires suspended between the two P & G headquarters’ buildings during this situation.
During the approximately 90 minute incident, 24 Cincinnati Police officers responded as well as two fire companies with a total of six firefighters in each company.
