Saying he thinks Baltimore residents are capable of resisting undue influence by public officials or the news media, Circuit Judge Barry Williams today rejected arguments that police officers accused in the death of Freddie Gray could not receive a fair trial in the city.

“The citizens of Baltimore are not monolithic,” Williams said, denying the change-of-venue motion by lawyers for the six officers charged in the 25-year-old West Baltimore man’s death.

“They think for themselves,” Williams said at this morning’s pre-trial hearing, addressing a courtroom packed with local, national and international media, as well as activists, police union officials, clergy and law professors.

It was an even larger audience than last week’s pretrial hearing, in which Williams denied motions to dismiss the charges and recuse State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby – and also decreed that each of the officers should stand trial separately.

Explaining his reasoning this morning, Williams spoke of the futility in a post-Internet age of trying to find Maryland jurors “untainted” by media coverage, since news reports and social media generated by people and organizations from around the world can by accessed anywhere in the world.

“How we get news today is vastly different from the ’50s and ’60s. Every person in the state can choose to inundate themselves with media reports, not just. . .Baltimoreans,” he said.

Poster Children for Anti-Cop Feelings

Williams’ ruling came after brief oral arguments by the two sides, as well as voluminous filings – 84 pages of motions and a 400-page appendix from the defense alone, Williams noted. His decision clears the way for trials scheduled to begin in October, the next chapter of a saga that has convulsed the city and riveted the nation for months.

Gray was arrested and placed in a police van in April in Baltimore’s Sandtown neighborhood and died a week later of a severe spinal injury.

His arrest set off a week of protesting and, on the day of his funeral, rioting, looting and arson ensued in parts of the city. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake instituted a week-long curfew and Gov. Larry Hogan called in the National Guard.

The defense this morning said their clients had become “poster children” for anti-police sentiments built up over the years in Baltimore.

“There was a public perception that the police action caused the rioting. . .there were assaults on police officers, assaults on bystanders, the torching of buildings,” said lawyer Ivan Bates, who represents accused police officer Alicia White, speaking for all six accused officers.

(That description, Bates noted, came from the state’s own court filings defending Mosby’s remarks at a press conference in which they were described as a gesture meant to calm the city lest it become “an armed camp or was burned to the ground.”)

Stoking Fears of Rioting

Bates said potential jurors who felt under siege in April would fear more unrest with a not-guilty verdict.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake stoked those fears Bates said, citing her recent remarks assuring the public that “riot gear” was being provided to police as the charges against the officers move forward.

Mosby’s remarks at the May 1st press conference also prejudiced potential jurors, Bates said: “It was as if she had given a public trial to these officers.”

But most prejudicial, he argued, was the city’s approval yesterday of a $6.4 million payment to the Gray family to settle any civil claims in the case.

“We cannot have a single juror who is not a-taxpayer-who-will-be-paying-for-this,” he said, and thinking “If they are not guilty, why would we be paying $6.4 million?”

Insulting the Citizens

Speaking for the state, Chief Deputy State’s Attorney Michael Schatzow conceded that publicity about the case had been intense but argued that “it was not entirely one-sided.”

“The daily paper has been full of attacks on the State’s Attorney,” he said, noting also that more than 90% of respondents in a Baltimore Sun poll disapproved of the $6.4 million settlement to Gray’s family.

He also noted that the Washington Post published an interview with William G. Porter Jr., one of the six accused officers: “on the eve of the trial.”

Jury selection is the only way to determine bias, Schatzow said, addressing Williams. “Nobody knows what the sentiments of the jurors are until you ask them.”

Other high-profile, highly-charged cases have gone forward in the cities where they took place, he said, citing the Boston bomber trial and the Washington D. C. sniper case.

To suggest that would-be jurors could not think freely or might lie about their true feelings, he said, “is insulting to the citizens of Baltimore.”

In the end, Judge Williams agreed.

“I believe every citizen has the right to think on his or her own,” he said.

“A Good First Step”

Outside the courthouse, protesters had gathered before the hearing chanting “the trial stays here” and “all night, all day, we will fight for Freddie Gray.”

At the news of Williams’ decision, they cheered but many said it was only a small victory amid deeper problems in the city, with police misconduct and more.

Freddie Gray confronted many other challenges besides the police officers who arrested him, said Kwame Rose (the name that 21-year-old activist Darius Rosebrough goes by.)

“His neighborhood was inundated by poverty. It was inundated by vacant housing. We still have a lot of work to do,” Rose said, speaking outside the courthouse.

Most people expected the trials would be kept in Baltimore, he said. “The next step is a conviction. We’re one step closer.”

Arrests of Prominent Protesters

Rose is the protester who was arrested during demonstrations at the Inner Harbor during last week’s hearing in the case and whose confrontation with Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera (" target="_blank">“I want you and Fox News to get out of Baltimore City!“) during the May rioting, caught on video, went viral.

Police said he attempted to stop the free flow of traffic and claimed falsely to be struck by a motorist. The charges include second-degree assault and disorderly conduct. Eyewitnesses have given conflicting statements, with some saying he was struck and hurt.

At today’s protest, Ryan Arrendel, 25, was arrested outside the courthouse according to Maj. Sabrina Tapp-Harper, of the city Sheriff’s Office.

Arrendell was charged with failure to obey and related charges after she refused to move to an area designated for protesters, Tapp-Harper said. (Online photos show her being released from Central Booking in the late afternoon.)

Also outside the courthouse were supporters of Pastor Westley West, of Faith Empowered Ministries, who was arrested on Wednesday night. West, who has led many protests about city police misconduct, was charged with attempting to incite a riot, malicious destruction of property, disorderly conduct, disturbance of the peace, false imprisonment, and failure to obey, police said.

The charges were detailed in a lengthy press release sent to the media, complete with links to video of West during the Sept. 2 demonstration on Pratt Street. West’s arrest, coming a full week after the alleged offenses, took place outside his church.

“This is my pastor, Pastor West. Them locking him up is a distraction, just like the settlement,” said Dionne Barmer, who held a sign with a representation of West in jail.

“You may have paid for the Gray family to go a away but you can’t pay for us to go away,” Barmer said.

Pastor Todd Yeary, of Douglass Community Memorial Church summed it up this way.

“Today was a step in the right direction,” said Yeary. “But we are looking toward the future. We’re looking toward citizen participation in the trial and toward deep, systemic and much-needed change that we need so badly in this city.”

– Danielle Sweeney contributed to this story.