A Kappa Delta sorority sister at Pennsylvania’s Franklin & Marshall College found herself behind bars with bail set at $1 million after engaging in alleged criminal protesting.
Kathryn Patterson, 20, joined demonstrations in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, over the fatal police shooting of 27-year-old Ricardo Munoz, who, according to body-cam footage, charged an officer while wielding a knife.
The undergrad was charged with arson, among other felony charges.
In total, 12 other alleged criminal rioters were also charged, with nine of them slapped with a $1 million bail, including Patterson.
Speaking to The Associated Press, Patterson’s father Chip Patterson called the $1 million bail “obscene.”
“Everything that I know so far, which is not a lot, indicates that Kat is not guilty of those charges,” he told the news outlet. “But then again, we’ll have to wait and see.”
“I cannot tell you how long this night has been,” Mr. Patterson added. “I think regardless of what these people did or didn’t do, the bail amount is just outrageous and clearly against the Eighth Amendment.”
The college student has been dubbed an “ally” of the Black Student Union at Franklin & Marshall College, where tuition is just under $60,000 a year.
The young woman’s sorority, too, is boosting Patterson.
“Last Wednesday, Franklin & Marshall’s Kappa Delta sorority features one its sisters in a recruitment post on how [Kappa Delta] helped her ‘grow exponentially as a person.’ Yesterday, it posted that it needed to raise $10k to help bail her out of jail for arson,” reported Brent Scher, on Tuesday.
“Every day, the women in [Kappa Delta] inspire me to pursue my dreams and change the world, and I love them for that,” Patterson gushed over the sorority, according to the Instagram post.
Last Wednesday, Franklin & Marshall's Kappa Delta sorority features one its sisters in a recruitment post on how KD helped her "grow exponentially as a person."
Yesterday, it posted that it needed to raise $10k to help bail her out of jail for arson. https://t.co/K05Eb38i5P pic.twitter.com/HMJzci7PqH
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) September 16, 2020
As noted by Fox News, the 20-year-old’s social media pages indicate she’s been at Black Lives Matter protests before.
BLM, all day every day.
Posted by Kat Patterson on Saturday, August 1, 2020
A GoFundMe set up for Patterson reads:
On Sunday 09/13/2020 Lancaster PD shot and killed Ricardo Munoz. During the protest that evening Lancaster PD detained Kathryn Patterson. Kat is a student at Franklin and Marshall College where she is an ally of BSU, and a member of Kappa Delta Sorority.
Kat was providing medical attention to injured demonstrators and has now been wrongfully accused of crimes she could not possibly commit.
We as members of the Black Student Union and Kappa Delta Sorority, have created this fund to raise money to support Kat and her family.
~ In Unity Lies Strength
In response to the fatal shooting of Munoz, the Lancaster Bureau of Police outlined the incident in a public statement:
“The first officer on the scene walked to the front of the residence and made contact with a woman, who was identified as a family member. A male subject then exited the front door of the residence and began chasing the officer. Preliminary information and body worn camera footage indicates that the male subject had a knife in his right hand as he was chasing the officer. The officer fired several shots from his firearm, striking the subject. The subject, identified as 27 year old Lancaster man, did not survive his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The officer was the only police officer on the scene at the time of the shooting and his body worn camera was activated and recorded the encounter.”
UPDATE:
District Court Judge Bruce Roth reduced charged protesters’ bail on Thursday, following backlash from Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and other protester and civil rights groups.
“Five protesters petitioned for a lower bail, and other protesters had their bail reduced by Judge Roth after he reviewed the bail on Thursday in courthouse A at the Lancaster County Courthouse,” Lancaster Online reported. “The defense attorneys and the Lancaster County District Attorney’s office helped the judge come to a conclusion for the new bail amounts, Judge Roth said.”
Patterson’s bail has been reduced to $50,000.