Two dozen people, some of them armed, gathered at the Pennsylvania Capitol Friday morning to remember George Floyd, whose death while in police custody last month set off a wave of Black Lives Matter protests.
A man who identified himself as “J” said the organizers, who he variously called “the collective” and “the movement,” came out on Juneteenth as a show of solidarity. Some of them brought rifles, he said, in order to exercise their second-amendment rights just as the predominantly white reopening protesters had a month earlier.
“J” said he was not a Harrisburg resident but members of the group that organized Friday’s protest were from in or around the capital city. They planned to continue to appear and to organize such events, focusing much of their energy on mobilizing the black community.
On Friday, he encouraged the group who gathered for eight minutes and forty-six seconds of silence in Floyd’s memory to stay in Harrisburg, to get to know one another and to support local black-owned businesses.
Although Facebook posts prior to the event noted that security was on hand to serve “as security for our right to gather,” “J” said he wasn’t aware of any planned counter-protest.
No Harrisburg or Capitol police officers were present for the demonstration Friday. Nonetheless, the protest was peaceful.
Wallace McKelvey may be reached at wmckelvey@pennlive.com. Follow him on Twitter @wjmckelvey. Find PennLive on Facebook.
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Juneteenth protesters, some armed, gather peacefully at Pennsylvania Capitol - PennLive
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