Six people arrested in police standoff at Robert E. Lee statue
RICHMOND — Richmond police say six people were arrested during the latest round of late-night protests at the Robert E. Lee monument grounds in Virginia’s capital city.
Police announced that an unlawful assembly had been declared at 10:25 p.m. Friday after an officer was shot by a paintball, the department said in a news release Saturday.
Several other officers were subsequently shot by paintballs and struck by other hard objects, according to the department, which said one of those officers was treated at a hospital for a possible head injury or concussion.
Police said one officer deployed pepper spray, but no tear gas was used. That contradicts descriptions of the scene from multiple news outlets and demonstrators.
The conflict was the fifth time last week authorities declared an unlawful assembly in Richmond and ordered crowds of demonstrators to disperse, according to the Times-Dispatch.
The Lee monument has become a rallying point during weeks of sustained protests in the city over racial injustice and police brutality. State officials last Monday announced gatherings on the monument grounds were banned from sunset to sunrise.
Gov. Ralph Northam has announced plans to remove the Lee statue from the top of its towering pedestal, but a judge issued an injunction that for now prevents him from doing so while a lawsuit plays out.
Those arrested were all age 30 or younger, including one juvenile. All were from Richmond, according to police.
Five were charged with unlawful assembly, a misdemeanor. Some were charged with obstruction of justice, one was charged with trespassing and the juvenile, who was not identified, was charged with felony assault on a law enforcement officer.