Defiant Demonstrators Take To The Streets In Protest of a Declared 8PM Curfew
With the city of Richmond waking up to streets of broken glass and smoke still rising from smoldering fires Mayor Levar Stoney in coordination with Governor Ralph Northam declared a city wide 8 PM – 6 AM curfew effective immediately. Many residents welcomed the restrictions to help reign in the chaos, destruction and gun violence that terrorized the city for the past two nights.
Despite the curfew declaration and promises of enforcement many residents and businesses on prominent corridors didn’t wish to take chances with another night of destruction and opted to board up their windows. Neighborhoods ranging from the Broad Street commercial area to Carytown shopping district were abuzz with the sounds of saws and power drills as sheet after sheet of plywood replaced shining glass windows.
With the sun dipping ever closer to the western horizon and the clock ticking towards curfew hour hundreds of demonstrators gathered on Monument Avenue at Lee Circle. The crowd could be heard from blocks away with chants periodically breaking out as they prepared themselves for a night of defiant protest.
Around 7:45 PM Richmond Police SUVs made their way down monument announcing on their amplified public address system that curfew would begin in 15 minutes. Some pedestrians on the street responded with compliance and departed to their homes while others stridently defied the order with a show of middle fingers and yells of disapproval.
At 8 PM the crowd gathered at Lee Circle departed east along Monument headed towards the city center. Hundreds of demonstrators on foot, bike and by car paraded along chanting in protest their grievances against law enforcement and their outrage at the city curfew. The march made its way east along Franklin before turning on a cross street at which point the several hundred person march traveled along Broad Street. The large crowd occupied both lanes shutting down the street to vehicle traffic.
By 8:45 the crowd which was mostly peaceful began to show signs of disruptive and destructive behavior. A Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter standing on a Pulse Station drew the attention of an angry masked demonstrator who attempted to intimidate and assault him by attempting to pull him from the elevated platform.
Not far from this location a demonstrator clashed with a motorist on Broad Street resulting in confrontation that nearly turned violent but thanks to intervention from another demonstrator cooler heads prevailed.
Around 8:50 PM police began enforcing the curfew by pursuing demonstrators along Grace Streets and Franklin Streets with attempts to kettle and confine them within the street grid. Shortly thereafter tear gas was deployed towards demonstrators on the 1000 block of East Broad Street. Another clash between defiant demonstrators and police occurred around the 700 block of East Broad Street with crowds gathered around the VCU Medical Center Pulse station.
As confrontations heated up pepper spray was deployed on demonstrators including a high profile incident of riot gear equipped law enforcement pepper spraying a press credentialed Virginia Public Media journalist and then tackling him to the ground. Shortly thereafter VPM ended their coverage for the night opting to withdraw their journalist from the dangerous situation on the ground. Several other journalists embedded within the crowd also faced dangerous situations with both demonstrators and police offering dual challenges to them as they attempted to report the news on the ground.
Around 9:30 police established a blockade on East Broad St which unfortunately directed demonstrators into the heart of the VCU Medical Center complex forcing hospital facilities to lock down and alerts issues to students and staff warning about the disruption within the healthcare facilities. In the chaos within the maze of the medical center police arrested nearly a dozen demonstrators on Leigh Street. Not long afterwards another group of demonstrators were taken into custody on West Broad Street closer to the VCU Monroe Park Campus.
For the next several hours smaller clusters of demonstrators moved along and near the Broad Street corridor while squads of Richmond Police, State Police and National Guard units patrolled and detained curfew violators on the city streets.
While the night was not as destructive as the previous two evenings there were still several scary moments in the Jackson Ward neighborhood. Around 11:30 a vehicle was set ablaze on East Marshall Street near 2nd Street. Later in the night around 2 AM gunfire echoed through Jackson Ward around the 400 block of Brook Rd.
By the end of the night police reported making 233 detentions and arrests for curfew violations and other charges related to the demonstrations.
Read More:
Moderate Damage Event: Disruptions & Light Vandalism