Raleigh George Floyd protest ends peacefully with no arrests

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Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Raleigh protests end peacefully with no violence
A protest over George Floyd's death ended peacefully Tuesday night.

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Protesters gathered in downtown Raleigh and downtown Durham for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday.

Raleigh curfew: What does it mean and who is exempt?

The protesters are part of a nationwide movement demanding change and racial equality in the United States of America.

The protests come after a Minneapolis police officer held his knee on the back of George Floyd's neck for nearly 10 minutes after an arrest. Floyd later died.

George Floyd memorial, public viewing services happening this week in North Carolina, Minnesota

The officer, Derek Chauvin, was arrested days later and charged with third-degree murder.

THE LATEST ON THE PROTEST

12:30 a.m.

Raleigh police characterized Tuesday's protests in town as 'peaceful' and said they made no arrests. Sometime after the 8 p.m. curfew went into effect, a group of protesters marched east of downtown. Police chose not to confront the group and allowed them to go downtown.

Raleigh's curfew will be lifted at 5 a.m. The curfew is in effect each night until the mayor lifts it.

9:45 p.m.

The protest in Durham wrapped up, with protesters still out in Raleigh peacefully disobeying the curfew.

In Raleigh, police in riot gear began to mobilize on a GoRaleigh bus near City Hall.

8 p.m.

Protesters in Durham said they were going to stay near the jail for "as long as they can" and then march back toward NC Central's campus to wrap up the protest.

One demonstrator spoke to ABC11's Tim Pulliam and spoke poignantly about DeAndre Ballard, the NCCU student killed by a security guard in 2018.

She said to know Ballard was to love him and said he was a good friend. She said she attended the protest not just for George Floyd, but for Ballard and others who lost their lives at the hands of authority figures.

7:45 p.m.

Some protesters are gathering peacefully outside the Durham Jail.

Protesters are still gathered outside City Hall in Raleigh

7 p.m.

Protesters gathered outside the NCGOP headquarters and now headed to City Hall.

5 p.m.

Gov. Cooper on Tuesday responded to Trump's claim that the response to protests by governors across the nation has been 'weak'

Watch what he said here:

4 p.m.

State Capitol police officers briefly took a knee with protesters who had gathered near the State Capitol building. It's a symbol of unity that's been seen in cities across the nation. The protest is supposed to last until the curfew starts at 9 p.m.

2 p.m.

At a media briefing Tuesday, Gov. Roy Cooper prefaced his remarks on COVID-19 developments by first addressing the Floyd incident and the subsequent protesting that has turned violent in some places, including in Raleigh during the weekend.

"To those lifting up their voices, I want to say I hear you, I am listening, and I want to help make the changes that we need," Cooper said.

Hear his comments here:

The governor denounced violence and said he will continue to provide state support as requested.

"George Floyd's brother visited the site of the murder and spoke yesterday," Cooper said. "He had a powerful message to those working in his brother's name: Stop the violence. End the destruction. Let's do this another way," he said.

The governor added that peaceful protesters had an important message.

"We cannot lose sight of the reason nonviolent protesters are in the streets," Cooper said. "They are calling out the systemic injustices that black people ... have endured for generations."