DURHAM – The fifth floor of the Durham County Justice Center was packed on Friday morning. People flew in from California, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Florida in support of Amanda Wallace, founder of Operation Stop CPS.

Wallace was served with a no-contact order pursuant to the North Carolina Workplace Violence Prevention Act filed on behalf of Maggie Clapp, director of the Durham County Department of Social Services.

Durham County District Court Judge James Hill approved the order against Wallace with specific conditions, including that Wallace not be allowed to use amplified sound when protesting and must remain at least 50 feet away from the Durham County Department of Social Services Building when protesting, and that no minors be present. Hill also ruled, however, that Wallace is allowed to send emails to Clapp, as well as attend DSS board meetings.

“I’m feeling like we already won,” Wallace said, expressing gratitude to the community that showed up in support of her case and the movement for the abolition of the family policing system. “What happened today was an attack on freedom of speech.

“The only witness that they had was the director of Social Services, and the only evidence they had were her feelings; ignoring the feelings of countless families that continue to voice that this is what’s happening to them. We’re not making up these words.”

Clapp testified that Wallace appeared at DSS events, board meetings and on the sidewalk outside of Clapp’s apartment, often in protest. Specifically, Clapp said Wallace “accused [Clapp] of being a kidnapper of Black children.” Clapp also testified there were frequently other people accompanying Wallace.

Clapp described emotional distress on separate occasions when seeing Wallace, alleging that Wallace’s appearance on a public sidewalk adjacent to her apartment was an “escalation.” In cross-examination, Wallace’s attorneys asked Clapp to clarify that, although she has known Wallace for approximately two and a half years, there has not been any actual violence between the two.

Wallace’s attorneys presented Dr. Sarah Katz as an expert testimony in Wallace’s defense. Katz is a clinical professor of law at Temple University Beasley School of Law and a published scholar of family justice law.

Katz said the terms “kidnapping” and “genocide” are used to describe the personal experiences of families involved in the family policing system. She also clarified that the United Nations’ definition of the word genocide “includes the forcible removal of children from one group to another.”

Despite being adamant that he would protect freedom of speech and quoting the French philosopher Voltaire, Hill ruled against specific use of “kidnapping” and “genocide.”

“When you allege someone to be a kidnapper, that is accusing someone of a crime. Kidnapping is a felony,” he said.

Despite being a public hearing, bailiffs only allowed a few of Wallace’s supporters into the courtroom, the door of which remained locked to the outside. Following recess, The Tribune was not allowed admission into the courtroom during Wallace’s testimony and cross-examination by bailiffs.

The hearing coincided with the Movement for Family Power’s national convening. MFP is another grassroots organization with the same mission of Operation Stop CPS. It provides resources and mutual aid, as well as convenings to build power and strategize building up family defense networks against the family policing system.

Many in attendance at Friday’s hearing expressed concern about the precedent it could set regarding social justice work and freedom of speech.

Jasmine Sankofa is the executive director of Movement for Family Power.

“Amanda’s been facing so much repression as an activist, but they can’t silence a movement,” she said. “They didn’t acknowledge that parents are very much silenced by this system.”

In his ruling, Hill said children should not be present or witness protests involving the words “kidnapping” and “genocide” when entering the Social Services Building, where there are visitation rooms and a dental clinic. “These kids have been traumatized enough. They’re in a difficult situation already,” he said.

Sankofa said the ruling “sets a terrible precedent,” because “at any point in time, because of any official’s feelings or perception of a threat,” they could face legal consequences.

Keshia Adeniyi-Dorsey is a board member of the Movement for Family Power and has her own family justice practice in California. She was impacted by the family policing system as a child and sees it as having generational impact.

“The judge today was saying he wanted to protect the children, and protecting children, the children need an understanding of what is happening to them,” she said. Adeniyi explained that children often think family separation is their fault.

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