On Friday night, protesters gathered in numerous U.S. cities in response to the publication of body camera footage of Tyre Nichols’s death by five Memphis police officers.
On Thursday, the five former policemen accused of murdering Nichols were arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
Following the release of video showing a violent struggle between Nichols and the officers on Friday night, demonstrators took to the streets in various cities, some demanding justice and an end to so-called “police terror,” others with generic leftist messages about “class struggle” and “revolution.”
According to social media recordings, the far-left group Antifa was leading rallies in several regions. Antifa is notorious for being aggressive and violent during protests.
Some demonstrators have stopped traffic and caused property damage.
Several dozen people obstructed a busy bridge on I-55 in Memphis, which connects Arkansas and Tennessee over the Mississippi River, causing semi-trucks to back up.
A gathering of demonstrators gathered in Lafayette Park in the District of Columbia, near Black Lives Matter Plaza and opposite the White House.
A dozen protestors gathered outside a police station in Chicago.
Protesters began rallying in New York City’s packed Times Square about 7:30 p.m. A video posted on social media shows a guy stamping on the front glass of a police cruiser in Times Square before being pulled to the ground by policemen. Grand Central Station was allegedly closed in preparation for protesters.
Traffic was also blocked in Boston due to a protest.
In Seattle, a large group of Antifa militants marched downtown chanting “black lives matter” and “say his name,” Rebel News reported. Another video by independent journalist Jonathon Choe shows an Antifa group blocking traffic near Seattle Center, chanting, “no justice, no peace.”
A witness told Choe, “They’re doing ‘no justice, no peace,’ but they’re leaving out ‘no racist police.’ They’re not saying that tonight.”
His comments were in relation to the officers charged in relation to Nichols’s death being black. Nichols was also black.
The officers’ names are Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III, and Justin Smith.
They were also each charged with aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping resulting in bodily injury, aggravated kidnapping involving possession of a weapon, official misconduct through the unauthorized exercise of power, official misconduct through the failure to act upon a lawful duty, and official oppression.
Nichols, a FedEx driver, passed away three days after the police encounter on Jan. 10. The city of Memphis has released footage from police body cameras and a camera on a utility pole, which showed the traffic stop where Nichols was pulled over for reckless driving.
Police and government officials, as well as Nichols’s mother, have called for protesters to remain peaceful. Meanwhile, authorities in various cities are making preparations for increased security.
“I don’t want us burning up our city, tearing up the streets, because that’s not what my son stood for,” said Nichols’s mother, RowVaughn Wells, on Thursday. “If you guys are here for me and Tyre, then you will protest peacefully.”
President Joe Biden said he was “outraged” and “deeply pained” after watching the Memphis video. He joined Wells in appealing for protesters to stay peaceful.
From The Epoch Times
