“Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Porsha Williams was recently arrested for protesting at the Louisville home of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Williams, along with 86 others, including “Love and Hip Hop New York” star Yandy Smith and Black Lives Matter activist Tamika Mallory, were hauled off while protesting to bring awareness to the lack of justice in the Breonna Taylor case.
Taylor was shot and killed by Louisville Metro Police officers on March 13. The 26-year-old emergency medical technician had been asleep in bed sometime after midnight alongside her boyfriend Kenneth Walker when they were roused by the commotion of three plainclothes LMPD officers at her apartment trying to serve a no-knock drug warrant. The officers burst through the door as Taylor and Walker reached the apartment hallway, and when Walker fired a shot that hit one of the policemen they returned fire with a barrage of shots.
Walker explained that he believed the officers were intruders when he fired, striking one officer in the leg. Authorities shot the EMT five times, killing her. Drugs were never found in the home, and it was later revealed that the actual target of the investigation, an ex-boyfriend of Taylor, was arrested that night at a home 10 miles from her apartment.
Not one of the police officers who fired on Taylor has been indicted in the case as Attorney General Cameron continues to weigh whether to bring charges. Cameron, a Republican who is the first African-American elected state attorney general in Kentucky history, inherited the investigation when the Louisville prosecutor recused himself from the case.
Williams and the other protesters at Cameron’s house reportedly were charged with disorderly conduct, trespassing, and a felony charge of intimidating a participant in a legal process, initially facing five years in prison as a result. But the felony charges were dropped Friday, July 17.
During a Thursday, July 16, appearance on MSNBC show “The Beat With Ari Melber,” Williams — still facing a felony charge at the time — said she would do a similar protest again. “I can’t just sit at home, post on Instagram, etc., and feel like I’m doing something to help this push forward,” Williams explained. “This entire situation needs to be escalated to the next level, and for me, whatever it takes to make that happen, I will happily be a part of that. I happily sacrifice myself and my freedom in that moment to raise awareness for Breonna Taylor.”
The “RHOA” star expressed that it is even more imperative that they continue to protest for Taylor before coverage wanes. “Her life matters more than ever now; if we don’t seek justice for her, if she never receives justice, that’s an injustice to all of us, African-Americans [and] all humans,” the reality star explained.
Williams joins a long list of celebrities who’ve demanded justice for the slain EMT, including Rihanna, who called out Cameron in a message posted to her Instagram account in late June. “Over 100 days after #breonnataylor was MURDERED!!” wrote the singer. “Her killers are at home watching Netflix on the couch. WTF is America?!” Rihanna captioned the post, “yerrrrr @danieljaycameron, where we at with this my brother?!”
