Large crowds of anti-police protesters flocked to a Back the Blue event in Denver on Sunday afternoon, blowing whistles, beating drums, and in some cases throwing blows, forcing police to intervene before the meeting closed. effectively early, reportedly.
The sixth annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Day event was scheduled for Sunday from 3 to 6 pm in the amphitheater at Civic Center Park in Denver. It was announced by the Pro Police Rally Colorado Facebook page.
Randy Corporon, a lawyer who helped organize the “family” event with food and live music from the Becker Band, said that Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen had asked him to reschedule or relocate the pro-police meeting from his location. normal, citing a risk that officers could be put in danger as Black Lives Matter protesters planned a counter-protest also at Civic Center Park.
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A man bleeds from his head after being injured at a law enforcement rally that clashed with protesters against the protest against racial inequality, in Denver, Colorado, USA, July 19, 2020. (Reuters / Kevin Mohatt)
“He was agitated that we hurt his officers,” Corporon told the Denver Post. “My response was that you should allow your officers to do their job and if people are there breaking the law, to stop them. Because they will have nothing to fear from us.
“We are exercising our constitutional right to assemble peacefully, and we do not intend to cede that land to these domestic terrorists,” he said before the event. “This police chief is the guy who walked hand in hand with Black Lives Matter.”
“If you agree that domestic terrorists do not own the streets and our parks in my once beautiful Denver Colorado, join me,” Corporon tweeted Saturday announcing the event the next day.
Shortly after the band started playing around 3 p.m. Sunday, anti-police protesters, who outnumbered the group that had appeared to show their support for the police, moved into the amphitheater space and played drums, blew whistles, blew pots, clapped and shouted obscenities to drown the music, according to the Denver Post.
Several people threw punches. The photos showed clashes between women on opposite sides pulling their hair. A man was bloody and had a large wound on his forehead.
Two women start fighting at a rally for law enforcement that faced protesters against the protest against racial inequality, in Denver, Colorado, USA, on July 19, 2020. (Reuters / Kevin Mohatt)
Officers on duty to monitor the event tried to form a line between the two groups, but were unable to completely separate the opposite sides. Denver police later confirmed that they used chemical sprays in at least three separate instances to help disperse the crowd.
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Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin posted several videos documenting Sunday’s events as they unfolded. She said Black Lives Matter protesters invaded the stage and attacked several women attending the pro-police rally, some with folding sticks.
Acting Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli reacted to the “scandalous violence” seen in Denver on Sunday, tweeting, “These left-wing tyrannical anarchists hate freedom of expression. If you disagree with them, they think it must be literally defeated. “
Most of the people who supported the police were gone in an hour. Anti-police protesters also stood in front of a police vehicle to prevent it from leaving, the Post reported.
One person was arrested for assault. Police said a supervisor was on scene to ensure that the two pepper ball deployments and the deployment of a manual fog device were carried out in accordance with department policy.
Anti-police protesters, left, clash with a supporter of the Pro-Police Rally when duels clashed at Civic Center Park on July 19, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson / MediaNews Group / The Denver Post via Getty Images)
“Our goal is to make sure that everyone has the ability to exercise their First Amendment rights. Those tools are used only if there is some kind of disruption or security threat, ”Denver Police spokesman Tyrone Campbell told the Post.
The counter-protest was organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and other Black Lives Matter supporters, including the Afro-Liberation Front, according to KMGH-TV.
Lillian House, an organizer for the Socialism and Liberation Party, said any celebration in support of the police is “unacceptable” and “is out of touch with the struggles people are facing.”
“There’s not much more to say, other than that every cop here is a terrorist by association,” Hale Rardin, a Black Lives Matter supporter at the scene, told the station.
In response to criticism of law enforcement, Pro Police Rally Colorado founder Ron MacLachlan said his group is not against police reform or that Black Lives Matter advocates for racial justice, but made a distinction. that “we have to support our men and women in law enforcement. Without them, we are in chaos and lawlessness.”
“The idea that these people have been around for the past six weeks going out and terrorizing different neighborhoods for a couple of hours straight, that is not acceptable,” he said, referring to the civil unrest that has developed since George Floyd died under police custody. in Minneapolis in May.
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Ahead of Sunday’s event, MacLachlan said the pro-police rally was not just for officers but also for their families. He reflected, “What kind of home are you in when you have that kind of tension in your life?”
Malkin also claimed that MacLachlan “was beaten a few minutes after praying” by Black Lives Matter protesters using a megaphone and a long horn. He also said that Police Chief Pazen, “who marched with BLM last month, allowed pro-police patriots to be beaten and silenced.” “
