Youngstown Police arrested five people Monday protesting the treatment of detained immigrants at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center. Four of the five are area ministers.
The clergymen and a Canton businessman who accompanied them were taken into custody for blocking the entrance to the privately operated prison.
They were part of a group of about thirty protestors trying to get the prison to allow ministerial visitations for immigrants held there. That's something Lynn Tramonte, a protest organizer, says is just not being permitted. “Dustin White, the pastor from Radial Church in Canton has been calling every week for months," said Tramonte. "He keeps getting the runaround. Different applications, different people he’s supposed to talk to; it’s like a convoluted maze and it doesn’t lead to being able to minister to the detainees religious needs.”
White, and minsters John Beaty, James Talbert, and J.R. Rozco were taken into custody along with business owner Austin Miller. All are to be in court at 9:00 AM.
