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Topless Protestor Arrested Outside First Day of Cosby Retrial

AP Photo/Corey Perrine
AP Photo/Corey Perrine

Cosby's retrial on three felony accounts of sexual assault begins today.

Update: Since publication, the protestor has been identified as former 'Cosby Show' actress Nicole Rochelle.

The first day of Bill Cosby's retrial begins today, and already, tensions are running high. An as-yet-unidentified woman has been arrested outside the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania after leaping over a barricade and removing her shirt, Vulturereports.

Cosby is charged with three felony accounts of sexual assault after allegations that he drugged and raped former Temple University employee Andrea Constand in 2004 in his suburban Phildelphia home. Costand took Cosby to court last June, but the case was ruled a mistrial after jurors could not come to a unanimous verdict. Cosby's lawyers are attempting to argue that he and Constand's relationship was always consensual.

57 women have come forward accusing Cosby of varying levels of sexual misconduct and assault. In the post #MeToo and #TimesUp era, his case is expected to resonate in a much louder and more unpredictable way given the new cultural context.

Related | Lisa Bonet Remembers Bill Cosby's 'Sinister, Shadow Energy'

"We are here to stand up for Cosby's 57 victims and to educate the public about the realities of gender-based violence," said Sonia Ossorio, president of New York's National Organization of Women, which organized a protest bringing a spotlight toward survivors of gender-based violence this morning (per Vulture). "How does a man get away with sexually abusing and raping nearly 60 women before being held accountable? We are here to set the tone, and send a message that the era of impunity ends now."

Cosby accuser Lili Bernard posted on social media that tonight she'll hold a vigil for all the survivors of Cosby's violence outside the courthouse:

The Advocates with Sonia BaghdadyOut / Advocate Magazine - Jonathan Groff and Wayne Brady

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