Protesters calling to defund the police held a protest in front of Cleveland Mayor, Frank Jackson’s home.
A group of protesters from the Sunrise Movement surrounded the property early Friday morning for about 20 minutes with the intent of disturbing the mayor while he slept, Fox reports.
The Sunrise Movement is primarily an environmentalist organization, however, according to their website, the Sunrise Movement believes that the “fight against climate change exists alongside the fight against white supremacy and colonialism.”
In a 40-minute long Facebook Live video, signs with “Rise up,” and “Defund the Police” were prominent, as was a large banner with “No Justice, No Sleep” emblazoned on it. Protesters chanted common slogans like “no justice, no peace, defund the police,” banged on pots, and sang songs intending to wake the mayor.
Several speakers addressed the crowd with a number of grievances. Some about the mayor, the city of Cleveland, and seemingly the U.S as a whole. Mayor Jackson was criticized for not doing enough to deal with climate change, police violence, and education. No clear policy proposals were put forth, and it is unclear exactly how much the mayor of a mid-sized city can do to fight climate change.
An event organizer called for a change to the cash bail system, saying, “we cannot keep jailing people for being poor,” and “we need to defund the police.” She went on to call the life inside Ohio correctional facilities “inhumane,” largely due to overcrowding.
The Sunrise Movement has been responsible for at least one similar protest. In June protesters descended on the home of Republican Senator Mitch McConnell for a “no justice, no sleep” event, reports The Hill.
The Sunrise Movement took to twitter to report the event saying “Stay woke, get free.”
P.S. In case not clear, this is Mitch McConnell’s house in Louisville at 6am. Happy #Juneteenth y’all.
Stay woke, get free. https://t.co/8BXtXD9BCH https://t.co/DfzsBvmasK
— Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@sunrisemvmt) June 19, 2020
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Ben Kolodny is a reporter for The Ohio Star and the Star News Network. You can follow Ben on Twitter. Tips can be sent to [email protected]
