Demonstrators Defy Orders To Vacate Lee Circle Leading To Confrontation With Police
Two days after state officials declared new regulations for the Robert E. Lee monument grounds demonstrators once more clashed with law enforcement in angry protest over the perceived unjust restrictions. Demonstrators took particular issue with enforcement of rules that the state property would close from sunset to sunrise daily in addition to restrictions on event size, permitting and the ban on firearms and other weapons.
On the two prior nights since the declaration of restrictions demonstrators had planned defiant protests against the state with many arriving equipped with shields, batons and other homemade offensive & defensive weapons. Despite gearing up for conflict and preparing fellow occupying demonstrators for the clash no significant confrontation would occur at the property. Some of this can be attributed to demonstrators choosing to have their Monday clash with police at city hall and then Tuesday night’s planned defiant occupation getting rained out by stormy conditions.
On this particular night things wouldn’t work out so peacefully with police choosing to enforce the restrictions at an earlier hour when many defiant demonstrators still remained on the state property.
It all started with a flyer spread on social media inviting demonstrators to “Defend MDP Circle” referring to the area demonstrators call “Marcus-David Peters” Circle. This flyer advised everyone to arrive at sundown around 8:30 PM and to “Wear A Mask and Bring Protection.” While it wasn’t specific as to what protection meant many arriving demonstrators were observed carrying homemade shields and other apparatus for crowd conflict with police.
As has been the case since the new regulations were announced Richmond Police and state agencies reiterated on social media around 5 PM that the Lee monument grounds would close overnight.
As the skies turned orange at dusk around 300 demonstrators remained on the state property gleefully defying the requests from authorities to vacate. Through the evening the crowds engaged in boisterous cheering and chanting on the property. Around 10:15 PM some demonstrators began detonating fireworks on the property which wasn’t particularly uncommon in the day leading up to and after the Juneteenth Celebration. At 10:37 PM there was a pyrotechnic malfunction resulting in a ground explosion and sending some demonstrators screaming at the frightening situation. Medics were brought in and alarming tweets circulated social media that someone was hurt.
Following this dangerous detonation of fireworks in a crowded area and the growing concern for the public safety law enforcement began deploying from their nearby staging area. By 10:57 PM riot gear equipped police arrived at Lee Circle from the north. Shortly thereafter additional Virginia State Police arrived on the western perimeter of Lee Circle.
With their perimeter established police advised demonstrators on their amplified public address system that they needed to depart the state property but demonstrators responded with defiance. For twenty minutes police request demonstrators disperse and reiterated the instructions, reminding demonstrators that failure to comply could result in the use of chemical irritants.
At 11:25 PM demonstrators exited the Lee Monument grounds and moved to the south side of the circle in the city owned property on Allen Avenue. With demonstrators outside the circle law enforcement took positions inside the property.
Around 11:28 PM police claim rocks and other objects were thrown at law enforcement officers and consequently an unlawful assembly was declared on the remaining crowd. At this point one individual is arrested and the displaced demonstrators dispersed and transformed into a marching protest.
At 11:47 PM the crowd moved east on Monument passing the Stuart Circle statue without incident then moved north on Lombardy before heading west on Broad.
The Starbucks Incident
Police claim that around 11:57 PM someone affiliated with the demonstration smashed the windows on the Robinson Street Starbucks and tossed a burning road flare into the business. The Richmond Fire department pursued the incident as an arson investigation.
Some prominent demonstrators question police claims that this incident was related to the demonstrators at Lee Circle as the location is 9 blocks from the monument and the bulk of the crowd was located in a different area at the time of the incident. Nonetheless police can’t rule out rogue actors from the march who chose to engage in criminal activity on Robinson Street.
Around midnight the crowd arrives at the new Whole Foods grocery store on West Broad Street and some individuals in the march begin smashing windows on the store. Others in the crowd confront the vandals and order them to halt their destructive behavior.
The crowd continues west on Broad until arriving at Arthur Ashe Boulevard where they turn south and then west on Monument. At 12:25 AM the crowd arrived at the statue of Matthew Fontaine Maury and some individuals wrapped chains around the monument in an attempt to topple it. The statue resisted their efforts as their equipment and manpower proved insufficient to the task of moving the giant statue.
Shortly after the crowd gathered around the statue for their attempted confederate demolition an individual on Monument Avenue balcony threw a folding chair onto demonstrators in the street striking someone in the head.
The crowd continued west on Monument before turning north again and heading towards Broad Street. They proceeded east on Broad back towards the VCU area. As the crowd approached the Whole Foods grocery store a group started chanting “Whole Foods Part 2!” and attempted to encourage vandals to resume their destruction. At this point a group smashed out some exterior lighting at the grocery store.
By 1:30 AM the crowd had entered the VCU campus and passed the RamTech store on West Grace Street. Someone in the crowd yelled out “Where the bricks at?” as they ponder smashing the windows and looting the store of expensive merchandise.
Not long after this some vandals in the crowd target VCU security cameras and spray paint over them to prevent further capturing of their crimes.
Around 1:45 AM the crowd arrived in Monroe Park where they occupied the center of the grounds and regrouped. The estimated 150 person crowd decided to take the march west on Main Street departing the park around 2:05 AM. When the crowd arrived at the intersection of Meadow and West Main Street around 2:33 AM some vandals took the opportunity to smash windows on the District 5 restaurant. Others in the crowd clashed with these vandals and advised them to stop their destructive behavior.
Police report that the march continued but shrunk in size until it eventually dispersed at 3:55 AM. Additionally police made an arrest around this time as a demonstrator in the crowd pointed a laser at a circling RPD aircraft in an attempt to blind the pilot.
Read More:
Moderate Damage Event: Disruptions & Light Vandalism