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Denver DA Dismissing Cases Against 33 State Capitol Protesters

DENVER (CBS4) - Denver's District Attorney Beth McCann will dismiss the cases against 33 climate change protesters. They were arrested during the State of the State address.

In total, 38 people were arrested, five of whom are juveniles.

STATE OF THE STATE protesters
(credit: CBS)

McCann stated:

"I support and appreciate people's first amendment right to protest and express their opinions, however, they cannot disrupt official proceedings inside the state capitol. Since most of these climate change activists spend a night in jail, I've concluded that prosecuting them further for criminal conduct is not warranted given all of the circumstances."

McCann says she encourages protesters to work with elected officials to affect change.

The protesters said they were trying to get their message out about climate change.

Watch the complete speech in the video clip below:

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