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i’m back at beautiful marcus-david peters circle in richmond tonight. another beautiful community event is in full swing. there’s a good crowd out here just enjoying public space.
the cops are here earlier than i would’ve expected - they’ve been waiting for crowds to thin out before they attack small groups of tired people. the crowd out here now is strong.
cops on at least two sides of the circle. the crowd is all contained within the concrete barriers around the circle.
remind me to buy some goggles tomorrow. i keep forgetting and i think i’m gonna regret it shortly.
riot cops massing on the ground on the median on monument across from the circle. the crowd is chanting “i don’t see no riot here, why are you in riot gear?”
riot cops massed on three sides - looks like if folks needed to flee, they could do that in the direction of the jeb stuart statue, but there’s talk that there are cops further down that way too, though i can’t see them from here
correction: main riot line is on monument (north of the statue). allen to the east is blocked and i can see a few cop cars south on monument. west on allen is actually the clearest path of egress i can see.
riot line is moving forward now. crowd is chanting “peaceful protest”
who do you protect? who do you serve?
the circle is surrounded with low concrete barriers installed by the state. a young black man is walking along the barricade with his hands up.
they’re announcing the declaration of an unlawful assembly from a speaker over on allen. i can’t actually hear it, but i recognize the sound of it from last time i heard it this morning.
it’s dark and i took my glasses off but can anyone confirm that there are three MRAPs on scene? two on monument and one on allen? seems excessive!
standing with a friend who said “it’s just like being back in afghanistan.” is that the vibe you’re going for @LevarStoney?
riot line advancing toward the barricades
they’re lined up along the curb now, still with the road between them & the barricades. in their “ready to fuck shit up” stance with their shields up.
they keep announcing that the lee monument closes at sundown. i guess it’s a small thing but they should’ve picked a time rather than “sundown.” gassing black kids because the sun went down has real sundown town vibes.
the main riot line is on monument but it looks like they’re staging some guys behind the vehicle barricade on allen. they’re blinding us with flashlights so we can’t really see what’s going on over there.
this is a lot louder and more disruptive to the neighborhood than us just sitting out here vibing, just saying.
the dispersal order last night said “you will be subject to arrest or the use of chemical agents” but this time he’s just saying subject to arrest? does that mean they’re out of gas?
the crowd appears to be making an organized withdrawal from the circle. folks are tightly massed and moving toward allen on the side that isn’t blocked by cops.
half the crowd is still in the circle. riot cops have breached the circle.
the crowd has left the circle, just cops in there now
crowd going mobile. folks calling for a march.
they love that statue
crowd retreating slowly, walking backwards. calls of “don’t give ‘em your back!”
cops spilling out of the circle onto the street toward us.
i don’t know where we’re going but we’re out of sight of the lee statue now and moving
if the goal of the dispersal was to keep the peace they fucked up. we were just chillin. NOW it’s loud.
excuse me, i’m trying to post here!
moving onto broad, it looks like. this is the “shut it down” part of “what do we want? justice. when do we want it? now. and if we don’t get it?”
come on out, richmond. looks like we’re gonna be out here a while.
the march is moving down broad but it sounds like the cops are trying to hurt the few people remaining near the lee statue

broken window at whole foods. i think it had it coming.
the crowd parted quickly and cleanly to allow a fire truck to pass. people applauded for the firefighters. (sorry the video is sideways don’t @ me ok)
off broad now and calling “out of your house, into the streets!” at houses & apartments
i salute the troops (bike marshals)
calls of “shields to the front” but i’m too short to see why
moving down monument, folks yelling “gentrifiers, wake up!” and “i smell bacon”
“ain’t no march like a richmond march because a richmond march don’t stop!” it’s true - this city has been marching for a month.
fuck that statue @ stonewall & little sorrel
brief pause to the march - some kind of situation where an angry dude was throwing furniture from his third floor apartment at people. a girl got hit in the head with a chair. unclear how badly she’s hurt but medics were with her.
we’re back out on broad. i see flashing lights. cops have us cut off it looks like.
we have foiled their plan by simply turning left
must be a different protest. we didn’t go that way.

cops lie!
honestly whatever happens tonight, even if protesters do some property damage, it’s all on the cops. if they hadn’t pushed a peaceful gathering out of a public place, we would’ve just chilled there until we got sleepy & went home. cops did this.
approximately one million cop cars headed down n meadow as we approach that intersection moving down broad. not sure where they’re headed!
it’s unclear where folks are headed but this march is moving at an incredibly fast pace. it’s causing a lot of attrition.
i’m a very fast walker by nature! and i’m finding the speed to be noticeably too fast. lots of calls of “slow down, tighten up” but folks up front are not heeding it. a big chunk of the crowd seems to have decided they aren’t up for this.
i am riding in the back of a truck now and am much happier
unclear what folks are up to from here. lots of people hanging in monroe park. i’m just chillin in the back of this stranger’s truck.
apparently the absurdly fast pace of the march caused a lot of fragmentation. there are small groups all over the place that broke off.
the march left monroe park about ten minutes or so ago. not sure where they were headed.
the cops have left marcus-david peters circle. it’s pretty empty here.
it’s very quiet here. i just dozed off for a minute lying on top of the barricades. maybe that means it’s time to go home.
i’m on my way to bed but it sounds like the cops are trying to watch the sun rise over monument ave again

they wait until the crowd is weak, tired, and largely already dispersed. disgusting. pointless. cruel.

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