BLM protest organizer pleads guilty to 20 counts of possessing child pornography lawofficer.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lawofficer.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Chris DeVries, 38, may go to trial in August or September.
On June 21, DeVries organized a North Conway protest he called âSkate Away the Hate,â which involved people riding bicycles and skateboards down White Mountain Highway from Schouler Park to Depot Road and back.
At the protest, DeVries spoke through a bullhorn and listed demands that he said came from local chapters of Black Lives Matter.
âIf we divest funds from police and prison systems, we all benefit,â said DeVries. âThose funds can go to local communities and social services.â
The following month, DeVries was charged with six counts of possessing child sexual abuse images, one count of possession of hallucinogenic psilocybin mushrooms and one count of falsifying physical evidence.
With less than five days left of 2020, the city of Wahpeton is preparing for 2021, a year it hopes many will look forward to.
Community Development Director Chris DeVries shared with Daily News a few things he hopes will be back in the near future. Return dates are tentative, but optimism is definite.
âI think in 2021 weâll be able to gather in groups, slowly but surely, as we have in the past,â DeVries said.
The Wahpeton Winter Wonderland, a weekend event revived in 2019 for the cityâs sesquicentennial, is not likely to return for 2021. DeVries said he was hoping to have the next Wonderland celebration build off the momentum of 2019âs success, but it looks like winter 2021 will be too soon to be completely safe.
Santa Claus, waving to passersby traveling up Ninth Street North in Wahpeton, nearly blended into the happy holiday hullabaloo.
âItâs nice to see so many people decorating this year,â he said Tuesday, Dec. 22. âWeâve certainly got the weather for it.â
Wahpeton announced the winners of the second annual Griswold Award holiday lighting contest. Once again, the winners were David and Jackie Paul, 310 Ninth St. N. The Pauls have been acclaimed for their home and lawn decorations, which this year include homemade figurines of the Grinch, his dog Max and Cindy Lou Who among the familiar favorites.
âJackie made the patterns and I cut them out of wood,â David Paul said. âItâs all due to Jackieâs ingenuity. We like to change it up a little and we just enjoy that people enjoy our decorations.â