Police clear out protesters from downtown, arrest dozens over the weekend
Editor’s note: This story will be continuously updated with details as events unfold throughout the day.
On Sunday, protesters in Columbia gathered again at the S.C. State House before marching through downtown, eventually being met by a line of police in riot gear blocking a path toward the Columbia Police Department headquarters. Tear gas and rubber bullets were fired at demonstrators.
It is the second day of demonstrations in Columbia, as tensions have exploded nationally over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died at the hands of Minneapolis police last week, and over systemic racism and police brutality across the U.S.
More than a dozen people were arrested Saturday and at least 15 law enforcement officers were injured in Columbia. Saturday’s events began as a peaceful protest at the State House but, hours later, devolved into violence outside the Columbia Police Department headquarters in the Vista.
A curfew is in effect for the downtown area bordered by Sumter, Pendleton and Huger streets and Elmwood Avenue until 6 a.m. Monday.
Here are live updates as events unfold in Columbia.
8:45 p.m.
Richland County Sheriff’s Department and the Columbia Police Department arrested more than 50 people at protests against police brutality Saturday and Sunday, the agencies announced.
The majority of those arrested, 31 people, violated the 6 p.m. city curfew, the sheriff’s department said in a news release. Another 10 people are facing looting charges, according to the agency.
Police arrested three people for alleged weapon violations, including a 19-year-old from St. Matthews who police say had a pistol and 70 rounds of ammo at Sunday’s protest. He was arrested for violating curfew, but police later found the weapon.
Still, others were arrested for various reasons including disorderly conduct, the sheriff’s department said.
Of those who were arrested, 15 were from the Columbia area and at least five were from other states, according to the news release. Police say 20 of the arrested were from outside of Columbia, but did not specify where they were from.
6 p.m.
With a curfew officially in effect for several parts of the city of Columbia, Mayor Steve Benjamin walked down Assembly Street, urging remaining protesters to go home. Dozens of law enforcement officers walked in lines down streets in the city center, sweeping the area for stragglers.
Shortly after 6 p.m., police arrested at least one person and appeared to be searching for another individual in the bushes near TakoSushi in the the Vista, according to a State reporter on the scene.
5:45 p.m.
A group of protesters remained at the State House and marched around the Vista hours after organizers asked the crowd to disperse. As the 6 p.m. curfew approached, tensions again began to flare between demonstrators and police.
Cups and bottled drinks were thrown at law enforcement officers stationed in front of the State House. Within minutes, officers fired bean bag rounds and tear gas at the crowd, according to reporters from The State on the scene. Protesters ran away from the stinging gas.
Police presence dramatically increased in the minutes after, as dozens of officers, patrol cars and at least one armored vehicle arrived at the intersection of Main Street and Gervais Street.
Police in riot gear formed blockades around the State House in an effort to clear out protesters.
EDITOR’S NOTE, 6:20 p.m.: A previous version of this entry misstated what kind of bullet police shot at demonstrators. Police fired bean bag rounds at protesters during a standoff in front of the State House.
4:15 p.m.
Lawrence Nathaniel, the organizer of Saturday and Sunday’s original peaceful Black Lives Matter protests, spoke with reporters after most demonstrators had dispersed from the S.C. State House.
The march that took place through downtown Sunday afternoon, he said, was not part of the protest plan.
“We want accountability. We want policies put in place that hold police officers accountable, and we want transparency and action in our police department,” Nathaniel said. “We shouldn’t have to wait two or three weeks in order for someone or something to be done ... when a young black man is pulled over on the side of the road and has an ounce of marijuana, and he’s in jail and can’t even get out on bond.”
He said demonstrators shared a list of demands with Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin and city leaders earlier in the day.
Nathaniel also said he’s calling for another demonstration at the State House Monday at 2 p.m.
Meanwhile, some remaining demonstrators around the State House confronted a man wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, while someone with a megaphone continued to urge the crowd to go home.
3:45 p.m.
Organizers of the original protest urged crowds gathered at the S.C. State House to go home. The organized event over, the crowd still did not immediately disperse. Some demonstrators left the area, but many still lingered near the intersection of Main and Gervais streets.
Police presence downtown remained heavy but no longer appeared to be in confrontation with any demonstrators.
3:30 p.m.
Protesters returned to the S.C. State House. A long line of people linked arms and stood on the sidewalk along Gervais Street, chanting “I can’t breathe.”
Law enforcement officers blocked numerous downtown streets.
3:20 p.m.
In an emergency meeting that began at 2 p.m., Columbia City Council formalized a downtown curfew. Protesters in downtown Columbia are currently in violation of the curfew, which is in effect for the Vista area until 6 a.m. Monday.
The curfew has now been extended to include the Five Points entertainment district, beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday.
Read more details about the Columbia downtown curfew here.
3 p.m.
Some protesters returned to face the police line on Hampton Street and kneeled on the ground before the officers, some of them with their hands up. The scene turned relatively calm minutes after tear gas and rubber bullets were fired.
Shouts of “Black lives matter” began.
Police began to advance somewhat toward the protesters.
2:45 p.m.
Protesters were halted at the intersection of Hampton and Lincoln streets by a line of law enforcement officers in riot gear. The marchers had appeared to be headed toward the Columbia Police Headquarters on Washington Street.
The situation escalated quickly. Tear gas was set off and rubber bullets appeared to be fired. The crowd appeared to disperse quickly.
2:10 p.m.
Protesters at the S.C. State House were making their way through downtown.
The crowd spilled into Main Street, blocking traffic.
It is unclear where the protesters are headed.
At first it had seemed the crowd might be moving toward the Columbia Police Department headquarters on Washington Street, which is where tensions escalated to violence a day earlier. But the crowd did not make make a turn toward the police department, instead continuing up Main Street then making a turn onto Richland Street.
2 p.m.
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster was joined by prominent statewide African American leaders as they addressed reporters, applauded peaceful protests and pleaded for a halt to violence across the state.
“Everyone ought to be angry with what happened in Minnesota with George Floyd. There’s no excuse for that. We don’t want it to happen here,” McMaster said. “We welcome protest. We welcome people speaking their mind, exercising their constitutional right in this country of freedom of assembly, freedom of speech. ... But we also do not tolerate lawlessness and violence and the destruction of property and harm to our people.”
McMaster said the assistance of National Guard troops is available to law enforcement agencies across the state if necessary.
Bishop Samuel Green, leader of the 7th District African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina, warned that the violence across the state and nation have become a distraction from the legitimate protests and movements against injustice.
“You can’t claim to love Jesus and not pursue justice,” Green said. “We do so embracing nonviolence, but with conviction. We don’t loot; we lobby our legislators. We don’t break glass; we break records and strongholds by going to the ballot box and voting in numbers unprecedented. Instead of violence, we vote.”
Read more details from the governor’s news conference here.
1 p.m.
Outside the State House, a growing crowd loudly chanted “Black Lives Matter” and “No justice, no peace” toward S.C. Law Enforcement Division officers, who stood in camouflage at the top of the steep staircase.
“It is a black issue and not just here but in America,” said Demetris Hill from Lexington County. “Black people have been enslaved for 300 plus years. I feel like we have rights, but they don’t pertain to black people. We keep dying on national TV … and no one is saying that is wrong. So unfortunately, these events will occur and continue to occur to change things.”
Hunter Harrell, 19, a College of Charleston student from Greenville, held a sign that read “Black Men Aren’t Thugs.”
She drove to Columbia from Greenville and planned to go back home later for demonstrations there.
“I feel like it was my duty, especially on a national scale, to speak about something that has been pushed under the rug,” Harrell said. “Now people are realizing it is a systematic problem. It is an institution that is racist that brought racist action. This is a good opportunity, conversation and demonstration. Not to be destructive, but to start a dialogue.”
An organized event had been planned to start at noon but was pushed back to 2 p.m.
An organizer, Lawrence Nathaniel, has said protesters will share a list of demands with local authorities. Nathaniel also was an organizer of the peaceful “I Can’t Breathe” protest Saturday that drew thousands of people to the State House.
This story was originally published May 31, 2020 at 12:26 PM.
