After more than a month of witness testimony and disputes over admissible evidence, the jury in the trial of three New Era Cleveland activists returned a not guilty verdict on all counts Monday afternoon.

As the 15 not guilty verdicts in the trial of Antoine Tolbert, Austreeia Everson and Rameer Askew were read to a court packed with their supporters, some audience members began sobbing quietly.

Tolbert, who faced 8 felony charges and years in prison, described hearing the verdict read as an out-of-body experience.

“Oh man, this is my first real breath in over 365 days, I’ve been holding my breath since Aug. 14 of last year,” Tolbert said.

Tolbert was arrested one year ago during a dispute with gas station owners on Cleveland’s East Side and was charged with several felonies, including

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