DC Protests: Thousands Pour Into City To Protest Police Brutality

WASHINGTON, DC — Thousands of peaceful demonstrators poured into the streets of Washington, D.C., on a hot, humid Saturday afternoon to protest police brutality and racial inequality.

The protesters gathered at the Capitol, on the National Mall and in many residential neighborhoods. The crowd erupted in applause as Mayor Muriel Bowser walked along the portion of 16th Street that she renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza on Friday.

Many of the loosely organized groups were moving toward the White House, where President Donald Trump was spending the day with no public events. The president remained behind closed doors, the faint sound of protesters audible in the distance.

One group of thousands of protesters chanted obscenities at Attorney General William Barr and the Department of Justice as they passed the FBI and Justice Department buildings. The protesters held signs that read, "When a cop kills someone, we all die” and “White silence is violence.” With hands raised in the air, many also chanted “Hands up, don’t shoot.”

Saturday marked the ninth day of massive protests in D.C., with numerous demonstrations across the city, including along the U Street corridor, the Lincoln Memorial, Freedom Plaza and Capitol Hill, over the death of George Floyd in the custody of a Minneapolis police officer and the Trump administration's aggressive approach to protests.

As protesters marched across the city on the humid day, with temperatures in the low 90s, volunteers passing out water, sunscreen, hand sanitizer and face masks to demonstrators.

The White House has been fortified with new fencing and extra security precautions amid a week of largely peaceful protests that at times grew violent.

City workers and activists on Friday painted the words Black Lives Matter in enormous bright yellow letters on the street leading to the White House. Bowser tweeted aerial images of the mural.

The letters and an image of the city's flag stretch across 16th Street for two blocks, ending just before the church where President Trump staged a photo-op after federal officers forcibly cleared a peaceful demonstration to make way for the president and his entourage.

"The section of 16th Street in front of the White House is now officially 'Black Lives Matter Plaza,'" Bowser tweeted. A black and white sign was put up to mark the change.

The White House had no comment.

Bowser's endorsement of the project follows her verbal clashes with the Trump administration over the response to protests of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Bowser has complained about the heavy-handed federal response and called for the removal of out-of-state National Guard troops. She says their differences highlight the need for D.C. to be a state and have more control over its internal affairs.

Outside Lafayette Square, there were no police behind riot shields as had been the case for several days prior to Saturday's protest. Elsewhere in the city, law enforcement and protesters kept their distance, and marches were friendly affairs filled with joy instead of rage.

Thousands marched from the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington, many chanting “hands up, don’t shoot” and “no justice, no peace.” Many carried signs and others said the names of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

By Patch Editor Mark Hand. The Associated Press contributed to this story.