Over winter break, former ETSU student Tristan Rettke learned he faces additional charges after a court hearing on Dec. 19.
After hearing testimony from several witnesses, prosecutors asked a Washington County judge to add disorderly conduct and inciting a riot to the warrant.
Rettke was arrested by ETSU campus police for civil rights intimidation in September 2016 after attending a student-led Black Lives Matter demonstration in Borchuck Plaza wearing a gorilla mask and overalls and holding a “Lives Matter” sign. He was arrested after confronting protestors and dangling bananas in front of their faces by a rope.
Rettke’s lawyer Patrick Denton said that his client was exercising his freedom of speech and did not intimidate anyone.