06/01/2026
On May 19, 2026, four Delaware State University students organized a gathering at the Rehoboth Beach Bandstand. Before the night was over, they were under arrest. Within twenty-four hours, they had been charged with intent to incite a riot — a felony — their mugshots circulating on social media, their names broadcast nationally, and their reputations placed on trial in the unforgiving court of public opinion. Ten days later, the Delaware Department of Justice dropped all charges, finding “no factual basis” to charge any of the four with any criminal offense.
Let that sink in. No factual basis. Not insufficient evidence. Not a weak case. No factual basis whatsoever.
The Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice believes this sequence of events demands both our gratitude and our honest reflection. We are grateful to the Delaware Attorney General’s office for acting with integrity and independence. We are grateful to the Delaware NAACP State Conference of Branches and its president, Fleur McKendell, for acting swiftly and forcefully. And we are grateful that, in this instance, the system ultimately worked. But we cannot celebrate that outcome without being clear-eyed about the injustice that preceded it.
On May 19, 2026, four Delaware State University students organized a gathering at the Rehoboth Beach Bandstand. Before the night was over, they were under arrest. Within twenty-four hours, they had been charged with intent to incite a riot — a felony — their mugshots circulating on social media,...
