Hundreds gather in Pennsylvania cities to protest

PHILADELPHIA » Hundreds of people gathered in Philadelphia and other Pennsylvania cities to protest the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white officer pressed a knee into his neck.

A crowd estimated by police as numbering 500 people gathered at Philadelphia’s City Hall, then marched through Center City to the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Saturday.

Returning to the City Hall area, protesters sprayed graffiti on a statue of former Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo and tried to topple it. Rizzo, who served from 1972 to 1980, was praised by supporters as tough on crime but accused by critics of discriminating against minorities. His 10-foot-tall (3-meter-tall) bronze statue outside the Municipal Services Building,

across from City Hall, has been defaced before and is to be moved next year.

During the protests, a state police vehicle could be seen on fire nearby; it wasn’t immediately clear how the blaze started and police didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

In Harrisburg, PennLive.com reports that several hundred people gathered Saturday on the steps of the state Capitol, many standing silently with raised fists. Some chanted “I can’t breathe” and carried signs such as “White Silence is Violence,” “Fight for Your Country” and “No Peace No Justice.”

Crowds also gathered Saturday afternoon for a march in downtown Pittsburgh to protest Floyd’s death. Police reported that the crowd near the PPG Arena was mostly peaceful but a group “overtook and destroyed” a marked police vehicle.