Charges dropped against Chicago protest leader

CHICAGO — Cook County prosecutors dropped charges Wednesday against a protest leader arrested in the Loop hours after the release of the video showing a Chicago police officer fatally shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.

Malcolm London, 22, was charged with aggravated battery to a police officer, a felony. He struck an officer at a protest rally, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Wearing a black T-shirt that read 'apologetically black' on the back, London thanked the judge and smiled at supporters who packed a courtroom at the Leighton Criminal Court Building after a prosecutor announced the charges had been dropped.

Supporters cheered and clapped as they left the courthouse and deputies yelled at them to quiet down.

London had faced the most serious charge of those arrested during the demonstration, which lasted for hours and briefly stopped traffic on the Eisenhower Expressway.

Police said in a statement that London 'was identified as striking an on-duty Chicago police officer' as police blocked protesters from marching across the bridge.

Supporters created a Free Malcolm London hashtag and urged people to call police to demand that he be released.

'He was just standing there and the police snatched him up,' tweeted the Black Youth Project 100, which organized Tuesday night's march. London is listed as a co-chairman of the organization's Chicago chapter.

London is a member of the Young Adult Council of the Steppenwolf Theater and appeared on PBS for a TED Talk with John Legend and Bill Gates. In 2011, he won the Louder Than A Bomb youth poetry slam in his Chicago, according to a biography on his website.

In 2012, just graduated from Lincoln Park High School, London talked to the Chicago Tribune about growing up in the Austin neighborhood and how it affected his work.

'There are a lot of kids like me in places like this, places kind of pushed into the shadows by the people who run this city,' he said. 'We have stories to tell, stories not told in the news and media. I am getting the chance to tell mine, and others can, too.'

In September of that year, he made his national television debut in 'Verses & Flow,' a series that features musical and poetry performances.

The others arrested during the protest:

Dan M. Vanriper, 38, of Murrieta, Calif., charged with one felony count of possession of a controlled substance, one misdemeanor count of unlawful use of weapon (a Taser), one misdemeanor count of possession of a deadly weapon (a knife).

Johnae A. Strong, 25, of Chicago, charged with one misdemeanor count of resisting a police officer.

May Page, 26, of Chicago, charged with one misdemeanor count of resisting a police officer.

Troy T. Alim, 24, of Chicago, charged with one misdemeanor count of resisting a police officer.