Hundreds Gather Outside Fairfax Police HQ For Peaceful Protest

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Hundreds of demonstrators gathered peacefully Tuesday evening outside the headquarters of the Fairfax County Police Department to protest against police violence and lend their voices to the ongoing national protest following the death last week of George Floyd in Minnesota while in police custody.

Tuesday's event was organized by Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) in Northern Virginia, a grassroots organization helping to organize white people for radical justice.

Using a bullhorn, Cayce Utley, SURJ's lead organizer, led the crowd assembled around the roundabout in front of FCPD HQ in chants of "Black lives Matter" and "End white silence" to show support for that movement and to raise awareness of police violence against people of color.

Utley also read a list of names of victims who had died in police custody across Virginia. Among the names was Natasha McKenna, an African American woman who died in 2015 after being tasered by members of the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office while being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. Following an inquiry, no charges were filed against the deputies involved.

For people who have been motivated to do something by the protests across the country following Floyd's death, Utley had a message.

"Our big ask of people right now is go local," she said, in an interview on Monday. "Look at the racial justice organizing that happening in our community, because there is organizing that's happening here in Northern Virginia around these exact same issues."

FCPD had cordoned off an area with barriers in front of their headquarters for Tuesday's protest. Officers maintained a presence behind the barriers throughout the protest, which ran for an hour and remained peaceful. Demonstrators continued chanting as they made their way back to their cars.

Also see ...

• Fairfax Officials React To Death Of George Floyd In Minneapolis
• DC Officials React To Death Of George Floyd In Minneapolis
• George Floyd: Bail For Ex-Officer Derek Chauvin Set At $500K
• George Floyd Death: Former Cop Derek Chauvin Charged With Murder
• Photos: Devastation In Minneapolis As Unrest Spreads Across U.S.