Freeport drops trespassing charge against Jackson

FREEPORT, Ill. — The Journal-Standard reports that the city of Freeport dropped trespassing charges against the Rev. Jesse Jackson and 13 other protesters at the request of Sensata Technologies. The civil rights leader participated in a workers protest in October at the Sensata plant. The plant was in the process of moving its Freeport manufacturing operations to China, at a cost of 170 jobs from the Illinois plant. The protesters were cited for violating Freeport’s trespassing ordinance. Jackson and the other defendants originally requested a jury trial after pleading not guilty in November.

An attorney for Sensata wrote a letter to the city of Freeport earlier this month saying the company supported dropping the charges.