A Hong Kong court convicts 4 people of rioting over the storming of the legislature in 2019 protests

By KANIS LEUNG
Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court has convicted four people for rioting over the storming of the city’s legislative council building at the height of the anti-government protests more than four years ago. The break-in on July 1, 2019, coincided with the 22nd anniversary of the former British colony’s return to China. It was one of the most chaotic episodes of the massive protests sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill. Hundreds of protesters swarmed into the legislature that night, spray-painting slogans in the chamber and painting over the territory’s emblem on a wall. On Thursday, judge Li Chi-ho convicted four people of rioting. Two reporters were acquitted of the rioting charge but were convicted for unlawful entry into the legislature.