MONTGOMERY — Around 300 protesters peacefully assembled one block down from the State Capitol building on Monday night to hold a protest against police misconduct in the wake of George Floyd’s death while in Minneapolis Police custody last week.
Demonstrators began assembling shortly after 8:00 p.m., and though tensions sometimes flared verbally, no physical altercations or property damage occurred.
At the end of the night, one young woman who refused to leave the scene of the protest after the city’s COVID-19 imposed 10:00 p.m. curfew was arrested by the Montgomery Police Department.
She was the only demonstrator arrested in downtown Montgomery on Monday, though the police department also took suspects into custody for the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue at Lee High School a few miles away.
Demonstrations had been held in Alabama’s capital city on Saturday and Sunday during the daylight hours, but Monday was the first gathering since an outbreak of violence in Birmingham ratcheted up tensions in the Yellowhammer State.
Mayor Steven Reed held a press conference at 6:00 p.m. and urged all those willing who could to stay home for the next few nights.
Various protesters tacitly acknowledged the violence in Birmingham and other cities across the country as they urged those assembled throughout the night to “stay calm” and “stay peaceful.”
“If you’re an agitator, you don’t belong here,” said one woman when the crowd had swelled.
There was evidence during the night that indicated the City of Montgomery was prepared for a more unruly evening than what occurred. A few dozen police officers were at the scene of the protest, but on the adjoining streets several more officers were close by that could have served as backup if needed.
Businesses nearby had prepared for bad behavior.
The Montgomery Police Department erected barriers one block away from the capitol in each direction, and the lines drawn by the officers were never broken by the demonstrators.
Protesters began marching and chanting familiar nationwide slogans such as “black lives matter” and “Say his name — George Floyd” to begin their demonstration Monday night.
Yellowhammer News walked amidst the protesters and was able to observe myriad levels of anger, disagreement about tactics and positive reassurance of the mission at hand for those assembled.
Dozens of those assembled were documenting the event for social media, while others held signs and led the crowd in chants.
There were even moments of levity, such as when one young woman demanded to know who of the protesting men were single, because she liked what she was seeing.
Tensions were highest just after 9:00 p.m., when the crowd was at its largest and moved suddenly into close contact with the police standing behind a barricade.
Protesters here in Montgomery have made a quick decision to walk right up to the police barriers. pic.twitter.com/y5ZcfytuLA
— Henry Thornton (@HenryThornton95) June 2, 2020
Shortly after that, two police officers who had entered the crowd to have discussions with protesters withdrew after being surrounded on all sides by demonstrators who were jumping up and down jeering loudly.
Police officers forced to withdraw from crowd. pic.twitter.com/y1lxZijBCl
— Henry Thornton (@HenryThornton95) June 2, 2020
One protester near Yellowhammer News shouted loudly that a nearby historical marker was a “slave trophy.”
Another man, who appeared to sense anger coming to a boil, urged him to calm down and maintain the peaceful proceedings of the evening.
Another demonstrator asked the rhetorical question, “Do you know how wars are won?” He then answered his own question, “By f—–g sacrifice.”
That demonstrator was then engaged in a respectful conversation by Montgomery Police Chief Ernest Finley, Jr., who was standing at the front lines of the protest.
Police dialogueing respectfully with the more agitated protestors. pic.twitter.com/AgbJZOR2mR
— Henry Thornton (@HenryThornton95) June 2, 2020
Just after 9:30 p.m., one of the loudest demonstrators was pulled from the crowd by the police. After what appeared to be a long discussion with multiple officers, he appeared to leave the protest without being taken into custody. An officer confirmed to Yellowhammer News later in the night that the man had not been arrested.
The removal of that man ended the most contentious portion of the evening. The crowd size began to diminish afterward, and there were only around 100 protesters remaining when the mandatory 10:00 p.m. curfew went into effect.
Just after the curfew, there appeared to be some energy among those remaining to stay until the voice of an Alabama State University student named Talisa Boswell rose above the din of the crowd.
“We’ll be back tomorrow,” Boswell promised as she urged her fellow demonstrators to obey the orders to disperse.
The crowd appeared to take Boswell’s message to heart as the vast majority of protesters left the scene.
One lone resisting woman was handcuffed and taken away by police at 10:15 p.m., and the department later confirmed to Yellowhammer that she had been arrested.
One protester handcuffed and taken away at end of Montgomery protest. pic.twitter.com/fcmyxy2Rtn
— Henry Thornton (@HenryThornton95) June 2, 2020
At 10:23 p.m., a SWAT unit that had been waiting around the corner pulled through the now-empty protest site, having gone unused during an event when the worst fears of many across the city never came to pass.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95
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