Activist Conrad James, who made demands to Raleigh leaders, arrested in connection with unreturned rental car

Saturday, June 6, 2020

Activist who made demands of Raleigh leaders later arrested

Activist Conrad James, who made demands of Raleigh leaders was later arrested.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- An activist who spoke out at a virtual Raleigh City Council meeting was arrested hours later.

Conrad James, 27, of Willow Spring, was picked up overnight, accused of failing to return a rental car from Enterprise back on April 21.

He is charged with felony failure to return a motor vehicle after the rental location manager reported that he had made multiple attempts to contact James and even mailed a letter to him, Fuquay-Varina Police said in a release.

According to police, James told Enterprise that he had lost the keys in Alabama and could not return the vehicle.

After law officers began investigating, the car was found in Cary on Wednesday.

James was additionally charged with misdemeanor injury to personal property after the car was found with damage.

Hours before his arrest, James threatened a lawsuit against the city.

James is the founder of Living Ultraviolet, which he described to the city council as a "non-profit think tank based out of Raleigh that stands up for underserved communities."

In his speech to the city council, he accused police of committing "a war crime" in use of force during protests that turned violent and threatened legal action.

In an unusual move, a Fuquay-Varina spokesperson sought to "clarify inaccurate information that has been disseminated from other sources."

"The warrants were served by the Wake County Sheriff's Office and the Fuquay-Varina Police Department was not notified of the warrant service until the afternoon of June 5, 2020," Susan Weis, communications director for the Town of Fuquay-Varina said. "The Fuquay-Varina Police Department did not participate in the arrest warrant service at Mr. James' residence."

ABC11 has reached out to Raleigh Police for comment.

James' court date is set for June 25.

The Wake County Sheriff's Office received the request to do warrant service from Raleigh Police.

Report a correction or typo