Activist arrested outside the home of Pittsburgh Mayor Peduto

Pittsburgh police, in an incident mediated by a defense attorney and local activist, arrested a prominent protester Friday night for alleged disorderly conduct after he spent another evening protesting outside the home of Mayor Bill Peduto.

Lorenzo Rulli faces multiple misdemeanor and summary charges, including possession of an instrument of crime for his use of a megaphone to shout his stance against the mayor and police outside Peduto’s Point Breeze home.

Rulli, 24, has been an outspoken critic of Peduto’s handling of police responses to Black Lives Matter protests throughout the summer, and he’s faced charges for alleged actions at multiple protests.

On Friday, Rulli was back on Hastings Street, where in addition to protesting via megaphone from inside his car, he was also shouting obscenities and threats, according to police. Police wrote in the criminal complaint that neighbors, some with children, called 911 asking for assistance.

An officer who was patrolling the area said Rulli committed several traffic violations, including two illegal U-turns. Eventually, police conducted a traffic stop and more officers arrived. While Ruilli eventually handed over his license and registration as asked, he refused to get out of his car.

As Rulli was live-streaming the incident, a crowd of other activists began to gather on Hastings Street. He continued to broadcast his refusal to get out of the car, saying he would turn himself in to the District Attorney’s Office in the morning.

He said many times that he thought police would kill him and he believed he would die in a confrontation with police. He screamed profanities at officers, asking them to leave him alone and alleging they were there to kill him.

Brandi Fisher, an activist and leader of the Alliance for Police Accountability, and defense attorney Paul Jubas arrived at the scene and worked to mediate the situation with police permission. Rulli said he was afraid of police and would only allow them to take him into custody if Jubas and Fisher could go with him.

Jubas could not immediately be reached for comment.

Police accommodated that request, bringing in a larger vehicle so Rulli would not have sit directly behind officers as they took him to the Allegheny County Jail.

It was not clear from court records Saturday morning whether Rulli was being held at the jail. He is charged with disorderly conduct, making illegal U-turns, possession of an instrument of crime and obstructing the law.