Raleigh mayor: Don’t judge peaceful protesters by those who came for ‘destruction’
Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin expressed frustration with the way protests in Raleigh ended Saturday night, asking people not to judge the peaceful protesters who gathered earlier in the day by the actions of those who she said came downtown “with the goal of destruction.”
The protests, held in response to the announcement that no charges would be filed against police in the death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, earlier this year, began peacefully, but ended with vandalism and arrests.
“What Raleigh experienced tonight was wrong and had very little to do with any call for justice,” Baldwin said in a statement released Saturday night.
“The City prepared an opportunity for those who wanted to protest peacefully, and once again, vandals — mostly white — used this as an excuse to incite violence and cause destruction of our downtown business community.
“Any message of support for Breonna Taylor was usurped by protesters who do not care about peace; they came here with the goal of destruction.”
The Raleigh Police Department made 12 arrests Saturday night and 11 of those people were charged with public disturbance and unlawful assembly. Eight additional charges were added for resisting or obstructing an officer, one for assault on a law enforcement officer, one for failure to disperse and one for unsafe movement.
In a Sunday morning press conference, Raleigh Police Chief Sandra Deck-Brown said more arrests are likely, as incidences of vandalism are investigated.
The crowd dispersed prior to Raleigh’s 11 p.m. curfew, according to police.
Baldwin rescinded the curfew order on Sunday morning.
When asked at Sunday’s news conference about calls from the public for the city and the police to be “tougher” on protesters, Baldwin said, “We do not want to incite people, we do not want to escalate the tension. There’s enough tension already.... If people are encouraging us to violate people’s constitutional rights, no, we’re not doing that. But we’re also not going to allow people to vandalize and destruct our community.”
Saturday started with a Rally Against Corruption, organized by a group of social justice organizations. About 100 people gathered outside the Wake County Courthouse to hear speakers, many wearing “Emancipate NC” shirts.
But a second group moved in later in the evening, and began breaking windows and throwing fireworks at police. Around 9:30 p.m., police began to notify the crowd that the gathering had become an unlawful assembly, and they started making arrests shortly after.
Damaged property included smashed windows at Beasley’s on Wilmington Street and Bida Manda restaurant on Blount Street, glass doors at One City Plaza on Fayetteville Street, along with graffiti at Sitti restaurant on Wilmington, and multiple trash can fires.
Some business owners had already gathered downtown by 10:30 p.m. to begin cleaning up broken glass and hang boards on windows.
Late protest organized by Durham group
The later protest began shortly after sunset at Nash Square and was organized by Durham BURN, a group that also held a protest in Durham on Wednesday when more than a dozen buildings were vandalized.
After that rally, Durham Mayor Steve Schewel told a News & Observer reporter that the vandals were white. “This is an attempt to co-opt a racial justice movement,” he said.
In Raleigh Saturday night, many of the 150 participants gathered at Nash Square were white, and most were dressed in black. Organizers urged people to put their cell phones away and they used umbrellas to block journalists and others from taking photos.
Deck-Brown said on Sunday that the protest groups are made up of different people each time, but that, “clearly some of the tagging we saw last night was indicative that they were anarchists and pretty much declared that. The symbols, the symbolism that was out there. And so for that reason we made sure that we made the arrests accordingly and will continue to do so. There is no tolerance for that kind of behavior in our city but we’re seeing that across the country. That’s not the ‘new normal’ and cannot be.”
Before the protests, Mayor Baldwin announced a curfew from 11 p.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Sunday, saying that would allow protesters the right to assemble while still helping to protect area residents and business owners.
When a series of protests began earlier in the summer over the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis, Baldwin waited before imposing curfews, and downtown businesses reported more than 70 incidents of property damage, The News & Observer reported.
The remainder of Baldwin’s written statement read:
“We as a Council are seeking understanding and compassion. We want to bring our community together. We commend the groups who gathered to peacefully protest this afternoon. Their message was clear — they are asking for equity and safety for people of color. We want to work together to achieve these goals.”
“I am urging our community not to judge the peaceful protesters by the actions of those who came to Raleigh tonight with an agenda of destruction. The goal was simply to cause chaos. We responded quickly and made several arrests. For those who want peace, we are here to work with you.”
This story was originally published September 27, 2020 at 9:19 AM.
