WASHINGTON – Authorities expect large crowds to gather in the nation's capital Saturday, the ninth consecutive day of protests over police violence against African Americans.
Security forces in Washington, D.C., braced for marches and mass demonstrations expected to take place from Capitol Hill to the area around the White House, the commercial and political heart of the nation's capital. Bikers and walkers combed the downtown area, seemingly in preparation for hours of protests.
Just before noon, a large crowd gathered around Lafayette Square, near the street renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza and the thoroughfare where muralists painted "BLACK LIVES MATTER" in large yellow block letters a day earlier. Nearby, a performer sang and played the guitar for onlookers, as vendors sold Black Lives Matter T-shirts and bottles of water.
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Just north of the park, a small group of children chanted, "Hands up, don't shoot," "Black lives matter" and "We are young, but we are strong."
Morgan Hubbard, 13, said she came out to protest because “it really matters to me how the future turns out."
"I can't help but think ‘Am I next?’ and I don't want that to happen," she said. "I don't want my little brother to be next, he's seven years old. I don't want that to happen."
Kiara Hall, 30, said although Saturday's protests almost feel like a block party, it’s already been an emotional experience. Earlier, she said she heard a woman talk to protesters near Lafayette Square about how her son was killed by the police.
“It's really emotional out here even though, you know it feels like family,” said Hall, who drove to D.C. from the Baltimore area.
Crowds and security have also began assembling at the Lincoln Memorial, the site of an iconic moment of the civil rights movement – the "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963.
"We felt we needed to be a part of this history," said Duane Johnson, 56, a claims supervisor from Denton, Maryland.
His wife, Tanya Samuels-Johnson, 52, an IT specialist said she wants to see a “peaceful revolution” in race relations. “It’s time for a change,” she said. “We need more sensitivity from the police.”
It's unclear what the total turnout will be, although Metropolitan Police Department Chief Peter Newsham said earlier this week that he expects Saturday's protests to be among the largest. Several demonstrations are planned throughout the city, and officials have closed off a large swath of the city, including several blocks near the White House and the National Mall.
Tensions have been rising between President Donald Trump and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser over how to police the protests, with the president promising to "dominate the streets." Bowser has demanded that Trump withdraw military and federal law enforcement from the city, saying the mass deployment of officers and the presence of heavy equipment was only inflaming demonstrations.
"This multiplicity of forces can breed dangerous confusion," Bowser said in a letter to Trump Thursday.
Officials said several states have sent their National Guards to the nation's capital, a move that the city opposed. Protests, marred with violence, arrests and looting in the first few days, have become largely peaceful recently, and officials expect Saturday's demonstrations to remain that way.
"As we make our voices heard, please continue to look out for one another. It’s crowded and many children are now also peacefully demonstrating," Bowser tweeted Saturday.
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Trump plans to spend the day inside the White House and has no planned public appearances. The president sent out tweets paying tribute to the military on the 76th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied landings in France in 1944 that led to victory in World War II.
Demonstrations erupted around the country last week following the death of George Floyd, a black man who was captured on video lying face down while a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into his neck. The officer, Derek Chauvin, is facing a second-degree murder charge. Three other officers have been charged with aiding and abetting.
Contributing: Kevin Johnson and Deirdre Shesgreen
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