Protesters hold up signs at Diamond Park in downtown Butler in May 2020. With a police presence and a number of armed spectators, much of the protest remained orderly.

A Saxonburg man was sentenced to probation this week for his role in a Butler rally in the wake of George Floyd's death last spring.

Amid the spread of the coronavirus last year, the death of Floyd, a Black man who was killed May 25 by police in Minneapolis, sparked protests and riots, including a Butler rally on May 31.

Police arrested eight people during the hours-long rally, including Everett Brandon Roy, 34, who Judge William Shaffer sentenced Thursday to six months of probation for disorderly conduct.

Roy was accused of being one of about 15 people who rushed at officers when they were tussling with another man, attempting to arrest him. Police said Roy “pushed through the crowd” to get at the officers.

“We were thankful to work this out with (the Butler County district attorney) to come to a very positive resolution,” said Andrew Stiffler, Roy's lawyer. “He does a lot of good for the community, so I think that was a factor in resolving this matter.”

Roy moved to the area 19 years ago and graduated from Knoch High School, according to a previous Butler Eagle story, which noted that Roy has been active in arranging groups to clean up local parks on the weekends and founded a nonprofit group.

This is an excerpt from an article that appears in Sunday's Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article.