Black Lives Matter (BLM) protester Mercutio Southall had his first hearing on Wednesday morning after being charged with arson, criminal mischief, and possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms. Circuit Judge Kechia Davis lifted the hold under Aniah's Law, which was a result of the arson charge and granted Southall $30,000 bond.
Bond for the other two charges were set at $10,000 for the possession charge and $15,000 for the disorderly conduct charge.
According to AL(dot)com, approximately a dozen fellow BLM protesters showed up to court in support of him.
Testimony in the hearing and court documents outline further details about the case against Southall and a woman, who police testified worked with him to set the fire.
Police and prosecutors explained that both parties wore "medical masks" to hide their faces. The pair switched vehicles between their two visits to the store.
The first visit, they worked together to set up the cart with flammable materials, placing it in the children's clothing aisle before leaving the property to switch vehicles.
When they returned to the store after initially placing items in the cart, with the woman now in a disguise entered and exited the store to return to a vehicle found with Southall at the time of his arrest.
Her third time entering the store, she returned to the cart, setting the fire while Southall reportedly waited in the parking lot to drive her away.
AL.com reported that the woman was among those in court on Wednesday supporting Southall.
The judge told prosecutors Wednesday that Southall's new charges are a violation of his bond from a 2024 conviction and that they could pursue a possible bond revocation.
Southall has a lengthy criminal history, which includes a December 2014 arrest in Homewood at the same Walmart after refusing to leave the property during a Black Lives Matter protest.
He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in 2015. He was also arrested and convicted of possessing a firearm at a demonstration in Montgomery County in 2016.
In 2019, Southall was charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of a man at his family's home in Birmingham. According to an AL(dot)com report in 2022, the charges were dismissed under Alabama's Stand Your Ground law.
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