RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Overlooking a crowd of hundreds from the steps of Richmond City Hall on June 3, Mayor Levar Stoney pulled down his face mask and apologized for the city’s police force using tear gas on peaceful protesters the night before.
The protests in Richmond since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis have packed city streets, with most people wearing masks but not all.
In Richmond, where the virus’s spread was deemed so severe that the city’s economy had remained largely shuttered after most of the state began reopening, protesters say the need to show up and fight racial injustice and police brutality outweighs the risk of getting sick.
Since Floyd’s death on Memorial Day, thousands of people in Richmond and across Virginia have protested, assembling in large groups while marching and chanting calls for an end to police brutality.
Gatherings of more than 10 people continue to be banned, although the state, except for Richmond and Northern Virginia, will enter its second reopening phase on June 5, raising the limit on social gatherings from 10 people to 50.
