Black Lives Matter activists in Dallas, Texas marched down the streets, took over a restaurant, and picketed a hotel. One of the demonstrators, wearing a red shirt, was filmed carrying a rifle.
Protesters gathered on Tuesday evening, chanting the name of Daunte Wright – an African-American man killed over the weekend in Minnesota – as well as Marvin Scott III, another black man who died in police custody in Texas last month.
Activists marched down Botham Jean Boulevard, renamed last month after an African-American man shot by a Dallas police officer in 2018, in a case of mistaken identity.
Some of the protesters, wearing red shirts and chanting “Who burn s**t down? We burn s**t down” and “Silence is violence,” later swarmed a restaurant in what appeared to be the downtown historic district.
Another video showed them in front of the Statler Hotel, chanting “Black Lives Matter.” One of the protesters, wearing a red shirt with the NGAN (Next Generation Action Network) logo, carried a long rifle.
NGAN was set up in 2014, and claims to be “one of the leading voices towards progressive change including the enrichment of communities nationally through education and organized activism.”
While Minnesota imposed a curfew and deployed state police and the National Guard to disperse rioters angry over Wright’s death on Sunday, the protests in Texas over the death of Scott were just picking up steam.
Scott’s relatives and around 40 other people have been picketing the jail in nearby McKinney for weeks, after the 26-year-old arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession died in police custody last month.
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