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'Operation Charlotte's Web' protester sentenced to 5 months in federal prison

Large, imposing stone courthouse
Ann Doss Helms
/
WFAE
The federal courthouse in uptown Charlotte.

A federal judge on Friday sentenced a protester arrested during “Operation Charlotte’s Web” last year.

U.S. District Judge Matthew E. Orso sentenced Heather Morrow, 45, to five months in federal prison followed by seven months of probation. Morrow is a bus driver in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools who ran unsuccessfully this year for Mecklenburg County commissioner.

In September, a jury found Morrow guilty of assault and three other misdemeanors from a November 2025 protest at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s office in southwest Charlotte.

The federal government says Morrow and William Stanley, 25, blocked entrances and parking lots, disrupted ICE officers’ work and refused officers’ commands. Stanley was sentenced last month to one year of probation.

Morrow attorney Rob Heroy told WFAE she plans to appeal.

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Julian Berger is a Race & Equity Reporter at WFAE, Charlotte’s NPR affiliate. His reporting focuses on Charlotte's Latino community and immigration policy. He is an award-winning journalist who has earned Regional Edward R. Murrow and RTDNAC awards for his coverage of heightened immigration enforcement.