Man put on diversion over post urging violence in suburbs during local BLM protests

A Park City man arrested in connection to a widely shared social media post urging people to cause violence in suburban neighborhoods while Black Lives Matter protests were ongoing in Wichita over the summer has been placed on diversion, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.

The June 2020 post came during global protests following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyd, a Black man, died after a white police officer knelt on his neck. Local protests over the death led to looting and vandalism at some stores and at least 19 arrests.

The arrests of Michael E. Boston Jr. of Wichita and Rashawn L. Mayes Jr. of Park City, who were 20 and 19 at the time, caused community outcry that led to their prompt release from jail.

On Thursday, Mayes had his first appearance in court and was put on diversion in connection with the case involving the social media post. Court records show he has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a riot, a misdemeanor. The post, made on Snapchat, encouraged large groups of people to meet in multiple locations around Sedgwick County, according to court documents.

“Mr. Mayes is happy to have the matter concluded,” Mayes’ attorney John Rapp said in an email. “He is excited to have this incident in the past and to move forward with his promising future.”

Boston will not be charged in the case, according to Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett.

As part of the diversion, Mayes will have to write an apology letter to the Wichita Police Department, Bennett said.

Wichita City Council member Brandon Johnson, who worked to have the men freed from jail after their arrests, said he’s happy Mayes will be put on diversion, which gives him a chance to clear the charge from his record.

“I’m glad that he is not losing opportunities in his future,” he said. “He does have a chance in diversion and a chance to have a productive life after this. We all have made some decisions that we wish were a little better. I’m just a little happy that this young man’s future can still be bright.”

Johnson stands by his decision to push for their release from jail.

“It’s not a knock on the police department, but I had not seen the actual evidence to show they should be in jail,” Johnson said. “And at the time, given what was going on in the country and what was starting to bubble up in the city, if you arrest someone and you don’t have that actual information shown, then things could get worse.”

Mayes’ mother expressed outrage over the arrests in a June Facebook post, writing that her son shared the ominous message to warn other Park City residents to “stay away from Bel Aire and Park City.” But she said he didn’t create it.

“However, they have somehow turned this shared post around on him as if he was the original creator of this post. Which is false!” she wrote.

A GoFundMe titled “Justice for Rashawn Mayes” raised nearly $5,000.

Contributing: Amy Renee Leiker of The Wichita Eagle

This story was originally published February 18, 2021 at 1:30 PM.