Man charged with carrying gun, 70 rounds of ammo at Columbia protest
A 19-year-old man is facing charges after police say he was caught carrying a pistol and 70 rounds of ammunition during Sunday’s protests in downtown Columbia.
Dominic Gladden, 19, of St. Matthews faces charges of unlawful carrying of a pistol and illegal acts during a state of emergency.
Gladden was arrested when he refused to disperse at a 6 p.m. curfew set by the city of Columbia, according to a joint news release from the Columbia Police Department and Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
Once in custody, police say they found the gun and the ammunition in Gladden’s backpack.
Gladden was booked Sunday into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center. He was among a dozen people arrested during protests on Sunday in the state capital organized to protest the killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck while he was handcuffed.
In total, more than 50 people have been arrested since protests broke out on Saturday, starting off peaceful before devolving into acts of vandalism in the city’s central business district.
Ten of those arrested are facing looting charges, while 31 are accused of violating the city’s 6 p.m. curfew, put in force after protests turned violent on Saturday. Others were arrested on charges such as disorderly conduct, while three are facing weapons charges, including Gladden.
Fifteen of those arrested were from the Columbia area, law enforcement said. Another 20 were not, and at least five were from out of state. Not all of Sunday’s arrests had been booked and processed Sunday night.
Sheriff Leon Lott and Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said the presence of firearms on Sunday showed that these protesters did not intend for the demonstrations to remain peaceful.
“To those who think they got away with agitating the crowds, know that those who were there peacefully took videos and pictures of you,” Lott added in a statement. “And we’re coming after you.”
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