Demonstrations Spread To Richmond & Transform Into Destructive Rioting
After videos of the horrific death of George Floyd at the hands of a law enforcement officer circulated social media demonstrations began spreading through cities across the United States. By Friday evening calls to protest in Richmond, Virginia were spreading among social media accounts with the general chatter pushing to congregate in Monroe Park around sunset.
By 8:30 PM hundreds were gathered in the centrally located park conveniently situated on the VCU campus, a few short blocks from the Richmond Police Headquarters and just under a mile from the state capitol. With the sun dipping below the horizon at 8:45 PM demonstrators flowed out of Monroe Park and headed north along Belvidere and then turned east onto Broad Street towards the city center. The giant crowd started off lively with loud chanting as the mass of people took over Broad Street and blocked traffic as they advanced through the city.
By 9:35 the crowd reached city hall with chants of “Say His Name, George Floyd!” The march remained largely peaceful at this point with some graffiti incidents occurring most notably with a GRTC bus getting tagged, this would prove not to be the worst inside for the public transportation company on this wild evening in Richmond.
Most of the demonstration at this point continued to focus on vocal chanting through downtown in front of the government complexes around the state capitol. However a rowdier bunch increasingly began contributing destructive actions to the event. On Grace Street furniture and rubbish was dragged into the streets and windows were broken on the Office of the Attorney General on 9th Street.
Throughout the evening law enforcement largely took on defensive positions protecting the capitol square complex and preventing demonstrators from entering the grounds. By 10:15 though things started taking a turn down a more destructive and violent path as some demonstrators targeted police with their frustrations. On the 300 block of East Franklin Street a VCU Police car was surrounded by demonstrators and pelted with water bottles. Around 10:30 PM a crowd had gathered outside the Richmond Police Headquarters and some individuals smashed windows.
At this point in the evening it was evident that Richmond law enforcement were ill equipped for the scale of unrest that was manifesting in the city and some in the crowd recognized the tactical advantage had by demonstrators.
Around 10:40 PM a lit road flare was tossed into a parked Richmond Police car outside of the headquarters on West Grace Street. The car was fully engulfed in flames and due to the crowds Richmond firefighters were unable to extinguish the inferno. Around the same time a dumpster was set ablaze not far away on North Jefferson Street.
Meanwhile crowds of demonstrators continued to swarm around capitol police officers guarding the 9th street entrance to the capitol. Demonstrators at this location were engaged in a variety of verbal confrontations with law enforcement. Graffiti and other vandalism was also occurring on nearby state buildings as crowds completely dominated the surrounding streets.
At 10:50 PM police discharged tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd sieging the headquarters property. In response crowds retaliated with water bottles, rocks and detonated fireworks in the direction of police personnel.
With the situation deteriorating on the ground state police reinforcements arrived at the capitol complex around 10:50. Similarly police equipped with riot gear established a stronger perimeter around the Richmond Police headquarters building.
By midnight the once combined mass of demonstrations had broken up into several pieces with one large group at the capitol complex, another occupying the intersection of West Broad & North Belvidere and yet another along West Grace Street near the RPD headquarters.
The crowd gathered around Broad & Belvidere proved to be the most destructive with a large amount of vandalism occurring to city property and nearby businesses. The fierce destruction started with some individuals taking out their rage against the Wells Fargo Bank as they smashed the windows to the downtown bank and demolished the ATM. Around 12:25 a stopped GRTC pulse bus had been tagged by demonstrators and shortly thereafter a large group attempted to topple the bus over. Busses being remarkably stable as well as heavy proved to be a significant obstacle in this effort. By 12:35 an arsonist had set the bus ablaze and Richmond police deployed chemical agents in order to clear the crowd from the intersection of Belvidere & Broad.
As the night progressed the peaceful nature of the protest had long since passed and only destruction dominated the streets of Richmond. The bus inferno raged at Broad & Belvidere with Richmond firefighters eventually able to extinguish it.
On the VCU campus looters knocked down the doors of the 7-11 on West Grace Street and stole a variety of convenience store goods.
Groups of destructive individuals were marauding around the areas along Broad Street causing mischief, smashing things and setting blazes. Around 1:15 AM a burning road block was built in front of the Village Café on Harrison & Grace. Due to the violence and inability to protect firefighters and their equipment crews opted to let many of these fires burnout on their own.
In the heart of the VCU campus criminals smashed their way into the RamTech store on the 900 block of West Grace and looted the location of valuable tech merchandise. Not far away on 700 West Broad St two men smashed the windows of nine VCU vehicles in a school parking lot.
Around 1:30 AM another police vehicle was set ablaze on the 300 block of West Broad Street. Shortly after this blaze was set someone discharged a firearm multiple times causing the crowd to scatter.
By 2 AM police and demonstrators faced off against each other around the nearby intersection of West Broad Street and Monroe. Most of these interactions were verbal nonetheless police were equipped in riot gear in response to the overwhelming destruction in the streets of Richmond.
Further looting and arsons continued well into the night along West Broad Street with crimes and fires reported until just before sunrise.
According to police no arrests were made during the night however in the coming weeks a number of suspects would be apprehended for their roles in destruction and looting of city businesses.
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Significant Property Damage Event: Broken windows, damaged vehicles and small fires.