PHOTOS: Protest In Lake Elsinore Sends Message Of Peace

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — About 100 protesters who marched down Main Street in Lake Elsinore Wednesday afternoon had a message for business owners and the city: "We love you." But they also had something to say about the brutality of some police officers around the nation.

The demonstrators — many of them Lake Elsinore residents — were on hand to take a stand against the Memorial Day in-custody death of 46-year-old George Floyd and others before him. The protest came as charges against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin were elevated to second-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death, and three other officers were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter.

The Lake Elsinore protesters assembled around 1 p.m. at Lakepoint Park in stifling heat. The racially diverse group ranged in age from late teens to 80-somethings. It was not clear who organized the event, however several people spoke.

"Part of our humanity is hurting and we're going to march, keep the peace, and we're going to be heard," a man said to fellow demonstrators.

One protester made clear that anyone who wanted to cause trouble in the city needed to go home. "If your agenda is to come down to Lake Elsinore and destroy our community — which people have spent generations and generations to build — get out of this group because you are in the wrong place," the African American woman said to those assembled with her.

Chanting "Black lives matter," and "We want justice, we want peace, we want equality, we want fairness, we want love," the protesters set off on foot around 1:30 p.m. down Lakeshore Drive and onto Main Street. Carrying signs reading "When cops murder, who do we call?" and "Being Silent = Being Complicit," the group stayed on sidewalks and road shoulders and were met with many supportive honks and fist pumps from drivers who passed.

Riverside County sheriff's deputies blocked a portion of Lakeshore Drive and Main Street to motor traffic, but the demonstrators were allowed through and there was no lawlessness. The scene was non-combative — protesters were peaceful, and deputies did not present a militant front. At least one hug was exchanged between a lawman and a female protester.

Nearly all shops and restaurants along historic Main Street, however, were boarded up in anticipation of the protest and concerns about what might happen after dark. Several business owners watched as the demonstrators told them, "We love you Lake Elsinore."

Carrying a sign that read "Old ... but still optimistic," Donna Griggs, 77, said she has been a Lake Elsinore resident for 40 years. The great grandmother told Patch of how she built a log cabin in the city and marched for Civil Rights and many other causes over the decades, including the Women's March. Wednesday's sweltering weather was not enough to keep her home.

"Something will come of this — some good," she said of ongoing protests.

Mark Carrillo owns Grumps-Garage at 112 N. Main Street. He sat on a bucket outside his boarded-up shop, watching the protesters from a distance.

"I don't have a choice," he said of his decision to stand guard over his business. "I have to protect it, and I will."

Carrillo is trying to recover from the COVID-19 shutdown — being boarded up is not good for business, he explained. But he said he supports the rights of protesters to peacefully assemble, and added, "All lives matter."

The protest continued into the afternoon. There were no immediate reports of unrest.