Cornel West won't face charges in D.C. protest
Last Updated 2:49 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON - Author and civil rights activist Cornel West and 18 others arrested with him for protesting at the U.S. Supreme Court will not be prosecuted.
They were arrested Sunday while protesting on the steps of the courthouse, as part of a October 2011/Stop the Machine demonstration against corporate influence in politics.
Cornel West arrested at Supreme Court protest
They were charged with refusing to leave the grounds of the Supreme Court and demonstrating with signs, which is prohibited.
Prosecutors on Monday decided not to press charges against the group.
West attended the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall before joining the protest.
October 2011/Stop the Machine is marking 10 years since the start of the war in Afghanistan and has an anti-war and anti-corporate greed message, which has dovetailed with the simultaneous Occupy DC protests being held in the city.
West is a well-known, left-leaning academic whose books include "Race Matters" and "Democracy Matters."