ST. LOUIS, MO – In another weekend of protests, the city of St. Louis continues to see violence outside of its City Hall. City workers and police have been injured during these protests and arrests have been made.
According to KMOV4, leaders in St. Louis have been supporting the protesting. However, they are now saying that they cannot allow people to camp out over night, especially because it’s been turning into something more dangerous.
In recent days, police officers, city workers, and a News 4 crew were assaulted or attacked.
St. Louis Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards said in a statement:
“While they call it protest, it is just a disguise to engage in bad behaviors, adding he will not tolerate what’s been happening outside City Hall. This is not Seattle. This is not Minneapolis. This will not happen in St. Louis.”
Protesters have demanded that Mayor Lyda Krewson resign after she read aloud, online, names and addresses of some people who wanted to defund the police.
According to authorities, for days people have set up camps outside City Hall, which is prohibited by local ordinance. Police have removed the tents and supplies for safety reasons.
Edwards said:
“We have discovered unsanitary conditions both times and that is worrisome to me. But moreover, I am concerned by the number of weapons identified by this protest group.”
In one recent example, De’Aundre Fitzpatrick was charged with third-degree assault, fourth-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon. According to Edwards, he hit one city tow employee in the face with a gun and punched another employee while they were attempting to tow cars from the middle of the street in front of city hall on July 9th.
Man charged after 2 city employees assaulted near protests outside St. Louis City Hall – https://t.co/0g5ic019ZG https://t.co/kffVKZUO4D
— Towing News Network (@TowTruckNews) July 14, 2020
Edwards also said that one man was stabbed by another person at the site, which required 30 stitches.
In another incident, around 7:30 a.m. Sunday, a News 4 crew was confronted by a group and threatened with bodily harm if they didn’t leave.
As News 4 was live on air, a person was heard shouting:
“You’re going to get your (expletive) beat. I’m not going to tell you no more.”
While reporter Caroline Hecker was on air, she was confronted by a man walking with a weapon and a woman giving a profane gesture. The camera kept rolling, picking up the audio of threats as the group got into their personal space.
As heard on the camera:
“I’m gonna beat your (expletive). Get the (expletive) on. We ain’t going to tell you no more. I don’t care who you is. Get the (expletive) on.”
According to Edwards, that incident prompted police to start making arrests and six people were arrested for charges ranging from trespassing to assault.
Edwards said:
“I had never seen protesters turn on the media and in the process, at least one officer suffered a fractured arm.”
He said of his officers:
“Even when they are being yelled at, spat on, and threatened with weapons, they maintain their composure and do it in a professional way.”
Edwards said he would rather be addressing the city’s violent crime problem, as homicides and assaults are up around 10%, year to date from last year. He said that the protests have resulted in some department resources being directed away from violent crime to cover the protests.
Authorities expect more protests in St. Louis, and Edwards said that while peaceful freedom of speech is okay, violence is not.
News 4 crews have tried on numerous occasions, including this past Monday, to talk to the people who are responsible for organizing the protests in St. Louis, but they have repeatedly declined to talk on camera.
Edwards has said that the protesting groups are loosely organized and aren’t connected to other peaceful protest groups in the city. He went on to say that most of the people who are arrested do not even live in the city.
In a final statement, Edwards was quoted as saying:
“This is just simply a distraction, but it’s a distraction that is going to end.”
Here is more on protests in St. Louis that Law Enforcement Today brought you back in June.
As if rioting, looting, vandalizing statues, general assaults and murders weren’t enough already when observing the Black Lives Matter protests – you can now add assaulting Christians who were peacefully praying at a demonstration to the list of reasons to admonish the current “movement.”
Because nothing says you’re against police brutality more than attacking people who were simply praying.
Attack Catholics Praying, Elderly Man Who Were Protecting King Louis IX Statue https://t.co/NXv5emJ59r
— CBN News (@CBNNews) June 29, 2020
The violence started when people were gathering outside of the King Louis IX statue located in St. Louis’ Forest Park on June 27th. Umar Lee was said to have been the organizer of the Black Lives Matter rally that was slated for the 27th aimed at protesting the statue in question.
The monument has been present within the park for over 100 years, and has served as a symbol of faith for many based upon his endeavors of being a devout Catholic and aiding in the construction of the famous Sainte-Chapelle.
About a dozen St. Louis police officers have formed a line between those saying prayers and those who want the King Louis IX statue removed. pic.twitter.com/9XJTkHHszf
— Joel Currier (@joelcurrier) June 27, 2020
However, to the protesters who were organizing the rally against the statue of the King Louis IX, they stated that he was “anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, and an anti-black crusader,” and Lee also added:
“He does not need to be on public property overlooking our city.”
Apparently, Lee must have missed the part where King Louis IX was also the only French monarch to have been venerated as a saint.
I’m guessing people forgot that the Crusades, where King Louis IX was involved during his tenure, were a direct response to Muslim conquests of Christian territories that happened prior to. https://t.co/lKEybli122
— Greg Hoyt (@GregHoytLET) June 29, 2020
Plus, the city of St. Louis is literally named after the French King. But that aspect hasn’t escaped Lee, as the BLM organizer is also trying to circulate a petition to rename the city.
When people arrived to simply demonstrate in support of the statue, that’s when violence reportedly broke out. One man, pictured below, was seen getting brutally assaulted by one of the rioters present.
At that moment someone in the crowd poured an unidentified liquid on the older man, pictured below protecting his head, and was then attacked by a violent individual, also pictured below attacking the elderly man.
3/8 pic.twitter.com/3f42ArYcFl
— Conor Martin (@CMartinForMO) June 28, 2020
Conor Martin, who was present during the protests, stated that the elderly gentleman assaulted during the protest was able to be removed from the area to safety:
“We got the elderly man out of there, and I was about to leave to retrieve my lunch as a friend of mine had just come over to tell me my food had arrived. The mob then approached him. They asked if he was with me, and when he said yes they began to berate him.”
They took his walking stick from him and when he didn’t react they knocked his hat off of his head, called him a skin head, and attacked him. At this point I intervened to pull the attacker off of my friend, and I was attacked by the mob and the attacker.
5/8
— Conor Martin (@CMartinForMO) June 28, 2020
Video showed the mob beginning to turn on those who simply helped the elderly person escape the violence enacted by the riotous individuals present. Martin provided additional context to the video above, stating:
“They took his walking stick from him and when he didn’t react they knocked his hat off of his head, called him a skin head, and attacked him. At this point I intervened to pull the attacker off of my friend, and I was attacked by the mob and the attacker.”
Martin has hopes of pressing charges against the attackers showcased in the video, but is calling for the public’s assistance in being able to identify them.
The righteous must defend themselves, as the it appears the government no longer is. I hope @realDonaldTrump, @GovParsonMO, @HawleyMO, @RoyBlunt, @DrSamPage, @LydaKrewson and all other public officials address this, as if this problem isn’t corrected, it will only get worse.
7/8
— Conor Martin (@CMartinForMO) June 28, 2020
After the events and violence that took place in St. Louis on the 27th, Missouri State Representative Nick Schroer called on officials via Twitter to ensure that the criminals present during this demonstration get prosecuted:
“I call on @StLouisCityCA and @stlouispolice to take action and prosecute these criminals! This is not peaceful protesting, its a criminal attack (with a weapon) upon peaceful protestors. This must not happen in our country and they must be held accountable.”
I call on @StLouisCityCA and @stlouispolice to take action and prosecute these criminals! This is not peaceful protesting, its a criminal attack (with a weapon) upon peaceful protestors. This must not happen in our country and they must be held accountable #moleg @Eric_Schmitt https://t.co/5nTm9qQtVj
— Nick Schroer (@NickBSchroer) June 28, 2020
The fact that Christians are being attacked with impunity on camera for simply praying by a statue of one of the most heralded saints is awfully telling of the state of affairs today.
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