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Protests and Protesting

25 more people arrested Saturday in Louisville as Breonna Taylor protests continue

Sarah Ladd Emma Austin
Louisville Courier Journal

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Twenty-five more people were arrested during protests in Louisville Saturday night – the fourth night of demonstrations following the grand jury decision to charge only one officer in the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor.

The charges are mostly curfew violations – there were 22 curfew-related charges, though some people were charged with more than one thing. Others are for rioting, theft and fleeing police. Most of the people arrested were from Louisville, according to police. 

Hundreds of protesters gathered at Jefferson Square Park and marched around downtown without any run-ins with Louisville police before returning to the park with less than two hours before the city's 9 p.m. curfew.

Some protesters planned to occupy the park past curfew and told anyone who didn't want to risk arrest to leave. The crowd shrank significantly, and just before 9 p.m. local time, protesters remaining in the park returned to First Unitarian Church, which protesters have used over the past few nights as a sanctuary from police after curfew.

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At least four people were arrested shortly after 9 p.m. at Sixth and Broadway, and about 100 or more protesters gathered at the church. 

Around midnight, police say a smaller group of people left the church and "began causing destruction." 

Police say there were plywood shields on fire in front of the church, smashed windows at Spalding University and Presentation Academy and graffiti sprayed on several buildings. Police caught on video a car in a Spalding University parking lot being set on fire, and they say fireworks were used to set off "small explosions."

LMPD, along with the FBI, the fire department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said they're looking for the people responsible. 

Protests across the nation – and at McConnell's house

Earlier Saturday, a small group of people gathered outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's home in Louisville for the second consecutive day. The dozen or so protesters used spoons to hit pots and pans while they chanted "Vote him out" and "Say her name," referring to Taylor.

On Friday, 22 people were arrested in Louisville after violating curfew. Many were charged with unlawful assembly and failure to disperse, all misdemeanors.

People in more than a dozen cities and towns across the country on Saturday invoked Taylor's name during gatherings demanding justice for her case. Larger marches and rallies took place in Portland, Nashville, Chicago, New York City, Washington, D.C., Raleigh, Kansas City, Boston and Baltimore.

Smaller demonstrations also cropped up in Worcester, Massachusetts; Greenville, South Carolina; Poughkeepsie, New York; Akron, Ohio; and Daytona Beach, Florida. In Bristol, Pennsylvania, several dozen people held a candlelight vigil on the banks of the Delaware River.

Contributing: Joshua Bote, Matt Mencarini, N'dea Yancey-Bragg and Grace Hauck of the USA TODAY Network.

Follow reporter Sarah Ladd on Twitter at @ladd_sarah

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