FOCUS: Peaceful protest followed by looting, clean-up and curfew

Photo by Jackson Bailes in White Point Gardens.

Staff reports  |  Saturday brought a pretty peaceful protest of up to 1,000 people marching through the streets of downtown Charleston.  But as night fell, looters ransacked stores and eateries already suffering from weeks of closure due to the novel coronavirus.  

Police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd as rioters, generally thought to be a different set of people from protesters, threw bricks, rocks and furniture through windows along King Street, particularly causing damage north of Calhoun Street. By 10 p.m., a countywide curfew was in effect.

Just before midnight, Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg released the following statement:  “The murder of George Floyd has rightly caused outrage here and across the country. And while we as Charlestonians strongly support all of the good men and women who are peacefully and lawfully protesting that terrible crime, we cannot and will not condone acts of violence and vandalism in our city. Tonight, our police will work to contain the relatively small number of bad actors who are doing this damage. And tomorrow morning, Charlestonians of every race and station will come together to reject all forms of violence and injustice, and to affirm once again that ours is a city united in peace.”

By Sunday, brigades of volunteers showed up with shovels and wheelbarrows to help businesses clean up the mess.  It was an outpouring of support diametrically opposed to the frenetic violence of the night before.  By Sunday afternoon, police, some in riot gear, were more visible as uncertainty grew about what was to come overnight.  A few arrests were made.  By 6 p.m.officials announced another night-long curfew, which helped to ease the tension.  By morning, the city was quiet.

The photos below are by Charleston City Paper’s Sam Spence and Lauren Hurlock and North Charleston photographer Jackson Bailes.

Saturday protest

Photo by Lauren Hurlock, Charleston City Paper.

Photo by Jackson Bailes.

Photo by Jackson Bailes.

Photo by Lauren Hurlock, Charleston City Paper.

Photo by Lauren Hurlock, Charleston City Paper.

Sunday clean-up

Photo by Sam Spence, Charleston City Paper.

Photo by Sam Spence, Charleston City Paper.

Photo by Sam Spence, Charleston City Paper.

Later Sunday, by Jackson Bailes.

Beaufort protest

Up to 100 people rallied peacefully Saturday and Sunday in Beaufort at Ribault Road and Boundary Street near Beaufort National Cemetery.  Resident Carol Corbin, who provided the photos below, described it as a spontaneous rally on Saturday in which youths were protesting the death of a friend by police.  By Sunday, more people joined the effort.

Beaufort photos by Carol Corbin.