After Teargas Sunday, Protester Would Stand Her Ground Again
Regrets – By Azara Lavia
Five years after Teargas Sunday became one of the defining moments of Antigua and Barbuda’s COVID-19 era, Shenel Williams is looking back at the tear gas, arrest, years of court appearances and the conviction that followed with a simple verdict of her own ‘No Regrets’.
Williams, who alongside Donette Simon, became one of the most recognisable faces of the Freedom Fighters movement, told Observer Media that the personal, financial and legal consequences that followed the August 8th, 2021 protest have not changed how she feels about the stand she took. She said that if faced with a similar situation again, she would stand her ground.
The demonstration brought hundreds of people into St John’s amid opposition to COVID-19 restrictions and vaccination measures. It ended in chaotic scenes as police moved to disperse protesters using tear gas and rubber bullets.
