JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) – A former East Tennessee State University student faces more charges after police said he disrupted an on-campus Black Lives Matter rally while wearing a gorilla mask and carrying around a rope and bananas.
News outlets report a prosecutor on Monday asked a judge to add disorderly conduct and inciting a riot charges to 18-year-old Tristan Rettke’s warrant.
Rettke was initially charged with civil rights intimidation after police said he dressed in overalls, wore a gorilla mask and dangled bananas tied with rope in people’s faces at the Sept. 28 protest.
His attorney Patrick Denton had said Rettke was exercising his freedom of speech and did not intimidate anyone.
The judge also found probable cause to send Rettke’s case to the grand jury, which will determine whether to indict him.