Protesters chant ‘No RNC in CLT’ during 2nd night of marching in uptown Charlotte

The second night of protests against the Republican National Convention in Charlotte saw at least 100 people march in uptown then through part of South End.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said five people were arrested.

The night’s protests were overwhelmingly non-violent but, at times, tense. Police used pepper spray on the crowd multiple times.

Late Saturday, the march re-entered uptown from South End via Caldwell Street. Protesters arrived to a blocked road, with police officers wearing gear designed for riot control. It was the first time in the night Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police were seen in the gear reacting to demonstrations.

It’s unclear why the specialized CMPD unit was deployed. Their stay was brief and the officers in riot gear were soon replaced by police officers on bicycles but the move angered many protesters.

They chanted: “Why are you in riot gear, we don’t see no riot here.”

The Caldwell Street incident led to one of the few directly-confrontational moments between police and protesters Saturday before midnight. At least one officer was seen deploying pepper spray on the group. Later, CMPD officials accused the protest group of having “advanced” on police.

About 20 minutes later, police officers were seen arresting someone on the ground who police accused of “repeatedly aggressing on police line.”

In a statement Sunday, CMPD said a demonstrator among marchers in uptown picked up a steel pipe and “aggressively approached” officers. Bicycle officers deployed pepper spray, the department said.

Just before 10 p.m, CMPD said, demonstrators were observed putting on gas masks and arming themselves with tennis rackets and shields. Officers arrested a demonstrator riding a bicycle for carrying a 9mm gun, it said.

Marching demonstrators also were seen placing business signs, garbage cans, scooters and traffic cones in the street to impede traffic, CMPD said. Officers pepper-sprayed a demonstrator who assaulted an officer as police blocked off Stonewall Street as a safety measure, the department said.

Demonstrators surrounded one vehicle that was traveling through the South Caldwell-East 3rd Street intersection, police said. As officers attempted to help the occupants, a protester was arrested for aggressively “attempting to breach the officers’ established perimeter,” CMPD said.

Charges against the five people arrested included possession of a weapon at a protest, damage to property, resisting a public officer and assault on a government official, police said.

Earlier in the night

The first face-off of the night between police and those marching saw no violence.

About one hour into the night, a group of people marching from Marshall Park met a line of police officers on bicycles blocking an uptown street.

Protesters, while yelling “No RNC in CLT” and “Black Lives Matter,” briefly gathered on either side of the police line formed near 3rd Street but moved on without incident.

About 10 minutes later, along College Street, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officer was seen holding a canister as pepper spray filled the air near the Childress Klein YMCA. It is unclear what led to police using spray.

Many in the group scattered, which led to some members of the march being briefly blocked on a cramped sidewalk, as security fencing was installed between the sidewalk and the street for the upcoming Republican National Convention.

Afterward, CMPD officials tweeted: “Pepper spray was used to stop a protestor armed with a pole from advancing on officers.”

Several people participating in the protest received medical attention after being hit with the irritant that was sprayed near College Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Throughout the night, officers on bicycles appeared to take positions strategically to keep those marching away from the interstate, the Charlotte Convention Center and the Westin hotel, where RNC meetings are underway. A few times, police officers forced the march to change direction or move by using bicycles in front of their bodies to advance on the group.

The crowd grew after starting out with at least 70 people around 8:30. The protests are in response to the city’s hosting of the RNC, which begins Monday. Chants have included “No Trump, No KKK, No Racist USA.”

At times, the march was joined by one of the city’s most-known street preachers: A man proclaiming “Jesus saves.” Protesters yelled back: “Justice Saves!”

Later in the night, members of the protest formed their own line by stopping and linking arms while standing at the intersection of Stonewall and Tryon streets. Some chanted “the blood of Breonna Taylor,” as the man with a “Jesus Saved” sign yelled “the blood of Jesus” behind them.

In South End, those marching denounced police brutality, gentrification in the neighborhood and yelled “White Silence Equals Violence.” There was a brief tense exchange with a man who was leaving a restaurant in the area around 11 p.m.

Those protesting yelled “Gentrifier” at the man and others standing outside North Italia. At one point, a person in the crowd sprayed silly string at someone appearing to argue with protesters.

Day one of RNC protests

On Friday night, a smaller group gathered at Marshall Park shortly before beginning a march in uptown. After police began to move the protest away from an intersection where traffic had been forced to stop, officers and protesters clashed.

CMPD reported four people were arrested Friday night during the protest. Pepper spray was used several times.

On Saturday, protesters arrived prepared to deflect and protect themselves from irritants and donned both masks and goggles. Some carried umbrellas and held them up as a shield when facing officers on the street.

Staff writer Bruce Henderson contributed.

This story was originally published August 22, 2020 at 10:21 PM.