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GREENSBORO — Five area pastors pleaded no contest to charges of disorderly conduct Thursday following their May arrest for blocking the entrance to police headquarters during a protest.

The Revs. Nelson Johnson, Cardes Brown, Gregory Headen, Joseph Frierson and Randall Keeney received a prayer for judgment ruling, meaning they will face no immediate punishment for the crime.

District Court Judge William "Pete" Hunter also ruled the group would not pay any costs or fines, according to court officials.

The group was arrested on May 5 outside Greensboro police headquarters at 300 W. Washington St. during a protest of what they have called a “subculture of corruption and double-standards” at the police department.

The group stood in front of the building’s sliding glass doors before a crowd of about 60 people while listening to a speaker with the Spirit of the Sit-In Movement.

The ministers were arrested after blocking the department’s entrance and refusing to comply with officer’s requests to move, police said.

The pastors, along with the Spirit of the Sit-In movement, NAACP and other groups formed the Greensboro Justice Summer, which wants an independent investigation of the police department by the U.S. Justice Department.

The group has accused the department of harassing Latino gang members in the community and of having double standards for black police officers.

Robert Newkirk, who also was arrested, was not in court Thursday. His case is still pending.

A prayer for judgment allows for the court to issue a penalty in the case at a later date, typically if a defendant is convicted of another crime.

A message for Hunter seeking comment on his ruling was not immediately returned.

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com