Attorney general to prosecute Jedidiah Brown's misdemeanor case

CHICAGO (AP) - The Illinois attorney general's office will prosecute the misdemeanor battery case of an activist accused of scuffling with police during a protest.

Cook County prosecutors withdrew from the case against Jedidiah Brown after eight Chicago police officers filed a petition noting State's Attorney Kim Foxx appeared at a news conference with Brown and posed for photos with him. Brown was part of group voicing support for Foxx after she was criticized for the dismissal of disorderly conduct charges against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett.

Brown was arrested after police said he and others blocked traffic during a protest over the controversial police killing in July 2018 of Harith Augustus, a barber.

Circuit Judge Leroy K. Martin Jr. granted the request by Foxx's office last month to step aside from the prosecution. Martin appointed the attorney general's office Thursday to prosecute the case.