Peaceful protestors see large crowd for second weekend of demonstrations

Police briefly blocked West Pine Boulevard Saturday afternoon as a line of protestors lasting over two blocks made its way to the Butler County Courthouse.

This is the second weekend in a row that protestors stood in front of the Courthouse with messages of “black lives matter” and “enough is enough” in response to the death of George Floyd on May, 25.

Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for over 8 minutes.

That officer is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The three officers with him, who he was reportedly training, are charged with aiding and abetting on both charges. All have been fired.

Saturday’s protest remained peaceful with officers pausing traffic when participants crossed the street. They started at Wheatley School, heading down Main Street to reach the Courthouse. Protestors remained on the sidewalk when possible.

Organizers said there was a far larger crowd than they expected when planning started Thursday. Groups also donated water for the protestors and participants registered to vote after the march.

Erin Ceesay, one of the organizers, told the crowd prior to the march that it would be a peaceful event and if “you’re here for another reason, you need to hit one of these exit signs.”

“There are injustices in our community,” she said. “We are here today to stand for peace because we all know we are human beings who just want to be treated equal. We want to be here and we want to stand up for our community because we know there are injustices right here, but we can break the barrier.”

Another organizer, Deonte Hubrins, said there’s no room for hate during the protest.

“As much hate as you give us, you also need us,” he said. “Without the black, African-American, brown skinned people there is no America. Without the LGBTQ community there is no America. Without the woman who feels like it’s her duty and her right to go get an abortion, there is no America. This is more than just police brutality, this is an equal rights movement. We have no power or room to judge people for the choices they make.”

After speeches from the organizers, the group made its way out of the school and toward the Courthouse, carrying signs and chanting Floyd’s name along with “no justice, no peace.” Passing cars honked and passengers waved out of the window in support. Some got out of their cars to join the crowd.