Protesters fanned out across Manassas on Monday afternoon in the latest in a series of protests in the Manassas area in the past three days, following the death of 46-year-old George Floyd, in Minneapolis.
Floyd was killed during an arrest attempt on May 25. Former police officer Derek Chauvin is charged in his death.
As of 4:30 p.m., a group of about 100 marchers is paying a second visit to the Prince William County Courthouse, where, minutes earlier, Sheriff Glen Hill and his deputies kneeled before protestors in a show of solidarity. The move brought cheers from the crowd.
“Kudos for sheriff Glen Hill taking a knee with everyone. He had all of his deputies stand down and take a knee with everyone in a moment of solidarity. I know Mr. Hill quite closely, I know it wasn’t an easy thing for him to prescribe to…” said Prince Willaim County Occoqaun District Supervisor Kenny Boddye on a Facebook Live video.
Boddye was present at the rally, he said and urged others to come to Manassas to participate.
“We’re putting in the work right now to bring the change we want to see, but when your system is built over centuries to oppress people, it takes more than just one generation… so I just want to make sure everyone knows what these young folks are standing for,” he added.
The protestors gathered at 1 p.m. at the Manassas train station in the city’s downtown and then marched a half-mile over to the courthouse. The protests have been peaceful.
The cops here in PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY MANASSAS, VA kneeled with us. #BlackLivesMatter. pic.twitter.com/btzbflz9fe
All Cobs Aren’t Bastards
Please do better.
— Biotrin (@biotrin89) June 1, 2020
Meanwhile, a second group of protestors is marching down Liberia Avenue, just south of Route 28, according to initial police reports.
These matches come after city police about 11:30 p.m. Sunday declared an unlawful assembly during a protest that occurred at a WaWa gas station, near the insertion of Signal Hill Road. That protest began six hours earlier as a peaceful event but escalated.
Meanwhile, in Fredericksburg, the city — the site of riots in the streets last night — closed city government offices at 2 p.m. today in preparation for another night of protests.
