THREAD: This afternoon, 64 protesters in Louisville, Kentucky were arrested after while marching throughout the city against police violence and demanding the police officers who killed Breonna Taylor be arrested.
All footage in thread by me for @N2Sreports.
#LouisvilleProtests
The protesters - led by @lsarsour and @TamikaDMallory with @untilfreedom as well as local organizers - began with a sit-in outside Churchill Downs, where the Kentucky Derby will take place in two weeks.
Police lined up in a formation.
Protesters continued marching, and police threatened to arrest them if they didn't leave the road. The group went on the sidewalk, marched around the officers, and then continued on.
They marched eastbound, and were blocked by cops on a bridge next to Cardinal Stadium.
Now, they were no longer allowed to proceed, even on the sidewalk.
Two were arrested, and many of the activists sat down in the street.
Following two arrests in front of me, I noticed police closing in behind us, forming a "kettle."
A handful of people were allowed to leave, so I took the opportunity to unkettle myself.
Police arrested everyone who remained sitting down.
See first tweet for more of arrests.
At bottom of the bridge, an argument between one man and a cop escalated, and a newly-formed militia coalition aligned with the activists called the "Loujihadeen" and the "United Pharaohs Guard" stepped in the way to separate the police and him.
They then made fun of the cops.
As the police were about to leave, activists stepped into the road, causing an officer to lead his guys back into a standoff with the armed crowd.
Ultimately, the crowd went onto the sidewalk and the police left.
The activists called it a victory.
"The Pharaohs just held that shit down," one United Pharaohs Guard militia member declared.
"They told us, 'we leave when y'all leave,' no, we stay and y'all leave! We're still here!" another added.
They say they will return September 5th, Derby Day.
Here is my full video summary of today's non-violent #LouisvilleProtests that left 64 arrested.
As always, raw footage is available for license. I will have some raw photos up tomorrow as well, but I have an early flight to catch before then.
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.