Raleigh mayor sets curfew for Friday and Saturday nights ahead of Jacob Blake protest
Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin has issued a 10 p.m. citywide curfew for Friday and Saturday, ahead of a planned protest over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.
Baldwin said she wants to avoid a situation like happened in Raleigh in late May, when a protest over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis was followed by property damage in downtown Raleigh.
“I think it’s obvious that we were overwhelmed the night of the protest,” she said during a Thursday afternoon press conference.
“My biggest concern is that we have a repeat of what happened, and we don’t want to see that happen again,” she said.
An event is planned for Friday night in downtown Raleigh to protest a police officer shooting Blake in the back in Kenosha, Wisc. Police haven’t said why the officer shot Blake, The Associated Press reported. Blake survived but is now paralyzed, his family has said.
Baldwin said business owners downtown asked for the curfew.
“They want to protect their places of business. They want to protect their employees,” she said.
In her announcement, the mayor also said:
“The call for justice for Jacob Blake, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless other Black and Brown Americans continues today and must continue until we begin to see real change in the hearts and minds of our country.
“By setting a curfew, it is my hope that we can allow those assembled the opportunity to exercise their right to free speech in a peaceful way, without violence or destruction from opportunists who don’t share the goals of peaceful protesters,” she stated.
The curfew will run from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. To see a list of exemptions, go to www.raleighnc.gov or call 919-996-2999.
A prayer vigil is being organized for 4 p.m. Saturday, Baldwin also said, and residents are being asked to go outside that night and light a candle, or turn a flashlight or cell phone light on “to shine a light on peace and justice.” Details will be announced soon, she said.
This story was originally published August 27, 2020 at 4:08 PM.