A prominent Black Lives Matter activist live-streamed his chilling arrest in Baton Rouge
Prominent Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson, who The New York Times has described as "a national voice" for the movement, was arrested on Saturday night while protesting last week's police-shooting death of a black man in Baton Rouge.
McKesson was live-streaming the protest when police came up from behind him and arrested him. He had been marching with other protesters along Airline Highway in Baton Rouge.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/751979576394289152
This just happened: @Deray was livestreaming when police arrested him. Go to 4:45 https://t.co/86GtDoXDGr
One protester can be heard telling McKesson to "film the white line" on the road to prove that the protesters were complying with the police's demands to not stray into the road. McKesson says more than once that there is no sidewalk that protesters could have been marching on instead.
Still, he is arrested: “City police. You’re under arrest. Don’t fight me. Don’t fight me," a cop yells as he approaches McKesson from behind.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/752037806948683776
A photo is worth a thousand words. #FreeDeray pic.twitter.com/sGZNkDxEhL
A major with the Louisiana State Police told Maya Lau, a reporter with The Advocate, that McKesson and the other protesters had "clearly" been blocking the roadway.
"We respond to their actions," he told Lau in a video later posted on her Twitter account. “We welcome the protests. We want them to voice their opinions. That's what we're here to do, to make sure they're safe and they're able to do that.”
McKesson texted Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery from prison:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/751990099068514304
Just got this text message from @deray, who has been arrested in Baton Rouge - says being held with 33 others pic.twitter.com/feLANYEdDs
At least two journalists were reportedly arrested at some point in the night.
Before his arrest, McKesson tweeted: "If anything happens tonight, it was caused by the police. Everybody has been peaceful tonight but them. #BatonRouge."
A confrontation apparently erupted between riot police and Black Panther activists during the protest — several of the activists were carrying shotguns, which is permitted under Louisana's open-carry laws, according to Reuters. A police spokesman said several arrests were made and two weapons recovered.
Still, many took to social media to condemn the police's response during the protest. More than one protester described being "ambushed" by police as they were demonstrating.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/752007541975121920
Also texted with another arrested demonstrator in Baton Rouge https://t.co/Kbi0Ik8KeL pic.twitter.com/TsUUsXqYge
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/752027432547340288
From bumbling cops to pointing rifles to snatch & grabs to mass arrests to funding Dept #BatonRouge cops mimic #Ferguson PD in early days
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/752119093839466496
Since when was it ok to arrest people for peaceful protesting? Just wondering #BatonRouge
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/751986780635705344
Baton Rouge police are handling this demonstration very, very badly.
It was the second night of demonstrations in the city protesting the shooting death of 37-year-old Alton Sterling there last week.
Sterling's death was captured on video and has sparked outrage across the country for the officer's apparently excessive use of force — Sterling was pinned to the ground by police when one officer took out his gun and shot him point-blank in the chest.
Sterling's death came two days before another black man, Philando Castile, was fatally shot during a traffic stop outside St. Paul, Minnesota. His girlfriend filmed the aftermath of the shooting, and has insisted that Castile complied with the police officer who pulled them over before he was shot four times.
Both incidents have prompted a wave of protests across the country, from New York City and Rochester, New York, to Washington, DC, and Nashville.
During one demonstration in Dallas on Thursday night, a lone gunman killed five police officers and wounded seven others in what was the deadliest day for US police officers since 9/11. At least 21 officers were injured in protests in St. Paul on Saturday, ABC reported, and over 100 protesters were arrested.
In Rochester, another activist was arrested as she was giving an interview. Her arrest was also caught on camera and has since gone viral.
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