A crowd of protesters filled the sidewalk in front of the Cass County Law and Courts building Friday to show support for a Dowagiac man allegedly discriminated against due to his HIV status earlier this year.

Holding signs with messages like “HIV is not a crime” and “#FreeCorey,” a group of 15 people from throughout Michigan assembled outside the building was a reflection of a number of other similar demonstrations in relation to Corey Rangel.

Underlying Friday’s court proceedings, in which the 29-year-old Dowagiac man was being sentenced for a probation violation, is a controversy that has drawn local — and national — attention to the county in recent months.

That morning, Rangel was sentenced to a minimum of three years in prison by Circuit Court Judge Michael Dodge for a series of violations the Dowagiac man committed while serving a two-year probation sentence imposed on him last year for three meth-related charges. Rangel pleaded guilty to the violations during a hearing before Dodge May 5.

In addition to the pictures found indicating Rangel had been violating his probation, a probation officer’s search of the man’s cell phone following his arrest in March uncovered photos of Rangel engaging in sexual activities. In response, an officer with the Dowagiac Police Department was dispatched to follow up to investigate the photos and other concerns, as, per state law, it is illegal for someone who is HIV positive to have sex with someone without disclosing that fact to them.

According to the police, the officer called several contacts on Rangel’s phone to determine if the man had engaged in sexual relations with them without telling them about his condition.

The officer successfully made contact with one person, and while the officer had not directly stated that Rangel was HIV positive, the officer’s questions prompted the other person to say he knew about Rangel’s condition before they had sex.

Rangel later told others about the incident, feeling that the officer had disclosed his condition without his consent, a violation of state law. His story was picked up by several Michigan LGBT and anti-discrimination advocacy groups, including the state’s ACLU, who wrote a letter to the Cass County Courts and Dowagiac Police Department condemning the search and investigation.

“This has nothing to do with his medical condition, as he has repeatedly tried to make this,” said Chief Assistant Prosecutor Frank Machnik, during his statement during Rangel’s hearing in court that morning. “This has to do with his criminality.”

Judge Dodge, in response to arguments of discrimination by police against the Rangel’s by the man’s attorney, Blair Johnson, echoed the prosecutor’s sentiments.

“There’s nothing I’ve read that has any bearing on the sentence of the case,” Dodge said. “That whole situation is irrelevant to me…it doesn’t have any bearing on his probation violation.”

While the issue may not have played a role in the judge’s sentence, it is far from a dead cause for Rangel’s supporters who gathered inside the courtroom that morning.

Holding a rally in front of the courthouse prior to Rangel’s hearing, 15 people from around the state gathered to protest the discrimination the Dowagiac man allegedly faced during his questioning by police.

Among those speaking that morning was Josh Moore, an attorney with Detroit Legal Services who has handled similar cases related to alleged discrimination based off HIV status, he said.

According to the attorney, the officer’s investigation into whether or not Rangel had sex without disclosing his condition to partners was a violation of his constitutional right to privacy, he said.

“It is troubling, deeply troubling, and it is what people who live with HIV face every day: stigma and discrimination,” Moore said.

With the criminal proceedings against Rangel now over — barring appeal — Moore said he and his staff would continue to investigate the incident to determine whether or not to file a federal lawsuit against the county, police department or other parties on behalf of Rangel.

“We want education,” he said. “That’s our number one goal. We want to make sure this never happens again.”