Abortion protestors sue City of Greenville over 2022 arrests

GREENVILLE S.C. (WSPA) – Five people who were arrested during an abortion rights protest in Greenville are now suing the city over their arrests.

The protestors, identified in the suit as Anthony Giordano, Nan Giordano, Chloe Giordano, Maggie Giordano, and Joanne Schmidt, were all arrested during a 2022 protest of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade.

Everyone except Schmidt, who is from Newberry County, are Greenville County residents and all five charged with interfering with a police officer and pedestrian in the roadway. Those charges were all eventually dropped.

According to the suit, the Giordanos were in Greenville for lunch before attending the protest.

While walking down Main Street, the suit claims Nan Giordano stepped off the sidewalk to navigate around people on the edge of the sidewalk, and was pushed back onto the sidewalk by a Greenville police officer.

When she attempted to cross the street using a crosswalk, something the suit alleges others were doing with no issue, Nan Giordano was approached by another officer and placed under arrest.

“After Nan was placed in handcuffs by Sgt. (Charles) Lane, Chloe (Giordano) then moved across the street to inquire as to why her mother – who had not done anything remotely illegal – was being placed in handcuffs,” the suit reads. “Chloe did not use any physical force in approaching the officer, nor did she engage in any behavior that can reasonably be described as threatening. Despite having broken no laws and having posed no threat to Defendant’s officers, Chloe was then also apprehended by officers of Defendant.”

According to the suit, other members of the Giordano family then tried to ask why the two women were being arrested and were also subsequently arrested.

The family claims officers forced Anthony Giordano to the ground with “significant force” and Maggie Giordano was shoved to the ground by an officer and fell in the crosswalk.

Schmidt claims when she attempted to check on Maggie after she was knocked down, police pushed her to the ground and arrested her as well.

“Despite a lack of probable cause for these arrests, Plaintiffs were all criminally charged by Defendant, through the above-mentioned officers of the Greenville Police Department,” the suit reads.

The arrests were captured on video and were subject to media coverage and a source of local debate.

Their charges were eventually dismissed, though according to the group, they suffered a deprivation of their liberty, loss of time, personal and physical injury, injury to their reputation and a violation of their civil rights, among other things, as a result of the incident.

7NEWS has reached out to the City of Greenville for a statement on the lawsuit. We will update this story if they respond.

You can read the full lawsuit below:

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