Fredericksburg Official Blames 'Bad Actors' For Angry Protest

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — Fredericksburg officials are blaming "bad actors" who live outside the city for an angry protest Sunday night against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and police violence across the nation. From their vantage point, though, protesters are accusing the police of needlessly pepper-spraying city residents.

Fredericksburg Fire Chief Mike Jones said Monday that the city respects the right of people to express their views and "when demonstrations or protests are run peacefully, they can be an advantage to a community."

During Sunday night's protests, Fredericksburg police declared the demonstration against police violence an "unlawful assembly" and then fired gas at protesters who were marching in the city's streets. Describing them as "disruptive protesters," the police accused some of them of throwing rocks at police officers Sunday night.

Similar to protests across the country where residents have taken to the streets, about 250 to 300 people gathered in Market Square, then moved to Princess Anne Street where participants blocked traffic and traveled on foot in the direction of Route 1, according to police. Despite the use of tear gas to quell the protest, Fredericksburg police said no one was arrested Sunday night.

Officials in Minnesota claimed that the vast majority of the people arrested at protests in Minneapolis last week were from outside the region. But officials had to walk back their comments when the arrest records showed that most of them were from Minnesota.

Jones contended Monday that "bad actors from outside the area" were "inject[ing] themselves with the intent to spread hate and criminal actions."

"Don’t let folks from out of the area come to our great city and make it less of a place," Jones said. "All folks in Fredericksburg work hard each and every day to make this a better place to live. Let’s keep it that way."

Demonstrators disagreed with city officials' assessment of the protest. They claimed the police initiated the violence by firing pepper spray into the group of protesters.

A state lawmaker blamed young white people for disruptive actions in Fredericksburg Sunday night. State Del. Joshua Cole, who represents the city and Stafford County, tweeted Sunday night from the city that "white kids just flipped over trash cans and riding around in pickup trucks and cars revving engines."

Fredericksburg closed its city government offices at 2 p.m. Monday "in an abundance of caution in light of planned continued demonstrations in downtown."

Early Sunday morning, two small fires were set at a police memorial and outside the front entrance to the Fredericksburg Police Department headquarters, according to the police department. The Fredericksburg Fire Department was able to put out the small fires. No injuries resulted from the flames.