[420 Girl]

County prosecutors say Orlando Gibson was caught in a drug deal. The 14 protesters who staged a demonstration outside a York district justice's office this afternoon say he's an innocent man, set up in retaliation for speaking out against the police.

Regardless of who's right, the legal system will determine his guilt or innocence another day. After a preliminary hearing today, York County District Justice Richard Martin ruled that there's enough evidence to proceed with a trial.

The protesters -- whose homes included Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Toronto -- vowed to return.

"We're going to be prepared to wage a really relentless campaign against this attack," said Iyapo Ngina-Bandele, who identified herself as Gibson's wife and said she traveled up from St. Petersburg, Fla.

Martin set the arraignment date for Jan. 2.

The protesters are members of the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement, which they describe as an international group dedicated to empowering people of African descent.

For two hours before the start of today's hearing, they held signs and chanted in front of Martin's office.

At first, they used an electronic megaphone. A York police officer showed up and said they would need a permit to use amplified sound. They continued without the megaphone, and there were no more confrontations.

Today's hearing involved Gibson, 29, and co-defendant Moses Coleman III, 28, both of York. The two were arrested Oct. 29 and charged with unlawful delivery, criminal conspiracy and possession with intent to deliver.

State police Trooper Shawn A. Wolfe testified that he was working undercover with a paid informant on the night of the arrests.

Wolfe testified that they purchased marijuana from Coleman at Front and Willis streets in York. He stated that Gibson was present in another vehicle and appeared to be involved in the transaction. Police who made the arrests found marijuana in Gibson's car, according to court documents.

The protesters claimed Gibson was targeted because of his community activism. They said police objected to his protesting the "222 Corridor Initiative," an ostensible anti-gang program that they claim is actually designed to harass black people.

Ngina-Bandele said though Gibson has a history of drug arrests, he's turned his life around and now opposes the drug trade through his work as a community activist.

Members of the group produced a copy of what they said is a hand-written statement by Coleman, exonerating Gibson of any involvement in the marijuana deal.

According to the statement, Gibson wasn't aware that Coleman had marijuana in his possession that night. It states that Coleman had left some marijuana in Gibson's vehicle, unbeknownst to Gibson, because he wanted to conceal the amount he had from the buyers.

Nobody mentioned the statement during today's hearing. Clasina Mahoney, a public defender representing Coleman, said she had just learned of the statement's existence that day.

She said she doubted it would have changed the outcome of the hearing and wanted to examine it further before commenting on it.

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