Police seize firearms from Black men at rally
RICHMOND, Va. — Police stopped a car of Black men and confiscated two of their guns at Virginia’s annual “Lobby Day” on Monday while white gun rights activists defied local laws unimpeded in the state capital of Richmond.
In a day with racial tensions on display, Black protesters denounced what they called a double standard in a state where people are free to openly carry firearms.
Virginians converge on the capitol each Lobby Day to petition state legislators on issues of public interest, but the day has been dominated by gun rights activists in recent years. It coincides with Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which honours the slain civil rights hero.
Reuters witnessed the police stop of the African Americans, which stood in contrast to dozens of white pro-gun activists on foot and in hundreds of trucks that drove through Richmond’s streets flying “Guns Save Lives” flags without police interceding.
They were stopped one block from Richmond’s memorial to Confederate General Robert E. Lee, less than an hour after a white, antigovernment “boogaloo” leader boasted on a megaphone that his group was violating gun and ammunition laws.
One of the Black men to have handguns confiscated unleashed an expletive-laden complaint, calling it a doublestandard and an example of why many African-Americans resent the police.
“Everybody in the city is carrying today, and you’re only pulling us over,” yelled a Black woman who was looking on with a group of enraged bystanders. “Shoutout to Martin Luther King Day!”
Richmond police did not immediately respond to a Reuters query about the incident and about the protesters’ allegation of discrimination. On Twitter, police said they had issued a summons to one man at that scene for possessing a concealed firearm without a permit, and had confiscated the gun.
This year’s Lobby Day took place in a highly polarized climate, coming shortly after supporters of President Donald Trump seized the U.S.
Capitol and after a year in which anti-racist and white nationalist demonstrators clashed at demonstrations across the United States.
Authorities were on high alert in Richmond, about 175 kilometres south of Washington, D.C., where Democratic President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in today, replacing the Republican Trump.
Windows at the statehouse were boarded up, the public entrance was fenced off and police patrolled the grounds.
But only dozens of protesters assembled on Monday, compared to last year’s crowd of 22,000, as estimated by police.
Similarly, nationwide proTrump demonstrations on Sunday largely fizzled after several states deployed the National Guard.