Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of downtown Nashville Saturday night and taunted law enforcement as officers assembled in unison along the sidewalks on Lower Broadway.
Officers held riot shields to guard their faces.
“Why are you in riot gear? I don’t see no riot here. Why are you in riot gear? I don’t see no riot here,” the thousands of protestors said in unison, over and over again.
At one point, protestors along lower Broadway paused in front of Bridgestone Arena, and many of them sat on the street for a time.
Twitter user @BestNashTransit tagged Nashville Mayor John Cooper and asked the following:
Serious question to @JohnCooper4Nash Under what legal authority does any group have to take up and block an entire street like this? Can I bring a group of my friends downtown and do the same thing?
— Go Nashville! (@BestNashTransit) June 13, 2020
“Under what legal authority does any group have to take up and block an entire street like this? Can I bring a group of my friends downtown and do the same thing?”
Meanwhile, Twitter user @scj63803268 tagged Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and told him just how put out he was with the day’s events.
https://twitter.com/scj63803268/status/1271936324623380481
“Gov Lee it is DISGUSTING that Nashville TN refused to open for residents to go back to work, but this continuing stuff is ok. It’s either all or NONE. Get with it partner or kiss your reelection votes goodbye. Too many folks have permanently lost jobs.”
Demonstrators recited a litany of familiar left-wing chants as they marched up and down the streets of Nashville:
• “No justice, no peace”
• “Defund the police”
• “No racist police”
• “Hands up, don’t shoot”
• “Show me what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like”
• “No racist police”
Nashville Public Radio reporter Samantha Max tweeted Saturday evening that protestors had occupied space at the state capitol for a little more than 24 hours.
Big crowd gathering across the way at War Memorial Plaza. Rally is getting started.
— Samantha Max (@samanthaellimax) June 13, 2020
“State troopers are telling them to leave, but many are staying put,” Max wrote.
As The Tennessee Star reported Saturday, Lee failed to enforce state law Friday night and allowed left-wing activist Justin Jones and a handful of his fellow protesters to camp out in Legislative Plaza. This, as Jones and others pitched tents and sat on the steps of the plaza throughout the night and into the morning.
A 2012 state law, “The Equal Access to Public Property Act of 2012,” clearly states that people may not use state-owned property for camping if it’s not a specifically designated camping area. Violation of the law is a Class A misdemeanor. The Act, which legislators passed and became law in response to the 2012 Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Nashville movement, allows state officials to physically remove items such as tents, blankets, and sleeping bags, which it states are “subject to seizure and forfeiture.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Black Lives Matter Nashville Protest” by Fox17.
I’m glad I visited Nashville years ago, before all this started. Will not be going to any major cities for quite a while. My grandsons want to go to Knoxville Zoo, but I don’t think even that would a safe place to show our white faces.
BLM is a social action group that has its roots in Maoist communism. https://www.theepochtimes.com/beijings-revenge-two-pro-china-communist-parties-coordinate-violent-us-protests_3380537.html
BLM also has support from Liberation Road, another communist group that has planted its vile seeds in Music City to help turn our democrat useful-fool PC politicians to totalitarian sheep, bleating for de-funding the MNPD and championing the destruction of businesses and chaos in our streets.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/american-maoists-re-brand-focus-on-electoral-politics-target-the-south_3102699.html
The Highlander Research and Education Center in East Tennessee, has trained many of these newly arrived social justice warriors and has made ideological inroads at UT-Knoxville.
https://tennesseestar.com/2018/05/08/trained-by-tennessee-socialist-organization-tirrc-is-begging-governor-to-veto-anti-sanctuary-city-bill/
Red diaper baby Hedi Weinberg, whose father was good friends with anarchist Emma Goldman, is head of the ACLU-Tennessee. She and her husband former Vanderbilt Sociology professor Dan Cornfield, are closely associated with the Center. Vanderbilt Divinity School is currently blessed with social justice activist Justin Jones, who led the protest sleep-over at the Capitol.
Vanderbilt University and UT-Knoxville have some big explaining to do if they don’t want to be known as sympathizers and enablers of those who are actively working to take down our Republic and its laws.
Well, Governor Lee, When are you going to enforce the state law? All you are doing is pandering and encouraging further lawlessness. You should have nipped this I the bud but you need to do it NOW!
When state officials can’t handle their business the President needs to step in and send the military to SHUT THESE SHIT SHOWS DOWN ! Enough is enough.
“Serious question to @JohnCooper4Nash Under what legal authority does any group have to take up and block an entire street like this?”
They arent rioting. They’re peacefully protesting a VERY serious problem the United States (and the world) is currently facing.
“it is DISGUSTING that Nashville TN refused to open for residents to go back to work, but this continuing stuff is ok. It’s either all or NONE. Get with it partner or kiss your reelection votes goodbye. Too many folks have permanently lost jobs.”
Everytime people get together in large groups, theres an uptick in Covid Cases. There will be here to, but “thousands” most wearing masks is tremendously different than several hundreds of thousands pretending that nothing is wrong.
I applaud Gov. Lee simply not forcing a confrontation, which WOULD result in personal injury.
So am I to believe that state law will not be enforced unless there is rioting or looting? I can understand that there are people that are hoping they will be forcefully removed so they can make a scene and cry police brutally. Does Governor Lee have any more comments? Are we to believe that other laws might not be enforced when it comes to these groups?
Its a constitutional right
THE RIGHT TO PEACEABLY ASSEMBLE IS NOT A BLANK CHECK.
REASONABLE TIME, PLACE AND SPACE RESTRICTIONS MAY BE IMPOSED AND THE MARCHERS MUST OBEY CRIMINAL AND TRAFFIC LAWS.
it is a shame that everyone has to be accountable except the ones doing their corruption and think they can do what ever they feel like and it is ok and the rest of us are to just turn a blind eye but when it come to obeying the law then they don’t like it if a officer says to put your hands behind you that don’t mean grab what weapons he has and think it is ok and he is to turn a blind eye to it really
He’s weak, the Mayor is weak, put a real Trump like conservative in both positions and none of this happens, keep voting for weak candidates and this is what you get, So quit complaining, now live with it!!!!
Mayor Chicken Coop is a spineless POS. Nashville cannot go back to work but, these thugs can gather as a group and take over. Give this group an ultimatum to get off the streets and If they don’t either put them in the hospital or jail! Put Cooper with them, spinless Democrat, he wants this to happen.
…you took your skateboard to the riots.
Get out the water cannons. Game over.
Totally agree. Don’t have to set the cannons to knock people off their feet, but a good soaking would wake them up.