Protest live updates: Ft. Lauderdale issues 9 pm curfew after clashes with ‘agitators’

Protesters returned to the streets of South Florida Sunday one day after peaceful demonstrations gave way to fires and looting in downtown Miami.

Less than 24 hours after police used tear gas and rubber bullets on marchers Saturday night, and arrested dozens in a clash outside Miami Police headquarters, crowds planned to march from Bayside — which was looted the previous night — to the Dade County jail.

At the same time, more than 1,000 people gathered on Fort Lauderdale’ tony Los Olas Boulevard.

The demonstrations are among many around the country in reaction to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody on May 25 after a Minneapolis policeman drove a knee into his neck for nearly nine minutes while the man was face down, handcuffed on the ground.

Follow the Miami Herald’s live blog for updates on the latest developments in South Florida.

Officer called for help before clash broke out, chief says

An officer’s call for assistance may have been the spark that led to a confrontation between police and protesters in Fort Lauderdale, Police Chief Rick Maglione told reporters Sunday night.

Maglione, speaking at a press conference at police headquarters, said details about the skirmish remain fuzzy in the early going. But he said an officer had called for help around the time protesters began throwing water bottles at police and officers fired tear gas into the crowd.

“There was an officer in need of assistance. Several officers responded to provide that assistance,” Maglione said. “That officer was in fear.”

Video of the protest appeared to show that protesters began throwing water bottles at police after an officer shoved a woman from behind while walking back toward the Broward County Public Library and away from the crowd. Maglione said the officer has been suspended and the incident is under investigation.

“This just happened a little while ago. We are doing a full investigation,” Maglione said, explaining that he was limited in what he could say about the incident. “This is one of the officers who responded to that scene to provide aid to the officer in need of assistance. This confrontation occurred shortly thereafter.”

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said that the protesters with whom police clashed had only just arrived downtown following a three-hour event in which more than 1,000 people gathered peacefully and marched up and down Broward Boulevard to the police headquarters and back.

“All of a sudden, a whole new throng of individuals appeared on the scene. We don’t know where they came from. They certainly weren’t part of the peaceful” event prior, Trantalis said. “These demonstrators that came afterwards were agitators. They intended to come to our city. They came with concrete blocks. They came with gas masks. They came with cartons of milk… They were ready for something. They knew something was going to happen. They knew it because they were going to create it. They were going to provoke it.”

Trantalis and Maglione said windows were smashed out at the Broward County government center, and at storefronts on Las Olas, a high-end shopping district. Trantalis said at least two people have been arrested after officers responded to calls of looting.

Trantalis said the city’s 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. cufew — ordered Sunday night — will continue to be in place until the city believes the threat posed by “agitators” is gone.

Fort Lauderdale protesters: no warning before tear gas

The clash between police and protesters started in the first floor of a city parking garage two blocks West of the Huizenga Plaza shortly before 7pm.

At the time, most of the people who marched Sunday were still back at the park, lounging in the grass and listening to speakers.

Several dozen protesters were marching along a side street chanting. Some stopped to kneel outside the garage. Others tried to enter the garage to get to their cars and leave.

Fort Lauderdale riot squad, armed with shields, batons, tear gas and rubber bullets, were staging inside the garage. It’s unclear what happened next, but within minutes reporters saw the police line up, batons ready. A few protesters threw plastic water bottles at the officers who immediately retaliated with tear gas and rubber bullets. Within minutes, a woman had been hit, falling to the ground, before being rushed away by other marchers.

More than a dozen protesters told the Herald they were given no warning and no order to disperse, but two motorcycle officers did enter the crowd and tell people to leave after several people threw water bottles at officers.

A crush of people still at the park rushed toward the garage. Some protesters lobbed canisters of tear gas back at police. Others sat peacefully as gas and smoke bombs exploded around them. One woman appeared to be meditating. Most ran when at least three armored vehicles and dozens more riot police descended on the scene.

Video captured by WPLG showed people throw water bottles at officers outside the library when one officer appeared to shove a woman from behind while walking past her. But everyone who spoke to the Miami Herald was confused about what happened, how the confrontation began, and why police engaged protesters in a parking garage.

“They trapped us in the garage in our car,” said Bishop Collins, 25, as he stood on a nearby street an hour later. “We were trying to leave. It was a peaceful protest the whole day.”

Throughout the evening, a familiar pattern repeated. Phalanxes of riot police pushed protesters away from the garage and back toward the park. But after scattering from the gas, protesters returned, gathering at the park. Most were peaceful and stood chanting. A few shot fireworks at the lines of police.

Keekee Perry, 47, said she thought the police overreacted. “I think they just get geared up and this is how they react to everything,” Perry said. “Anytime police approach any minorities, this is their usual reaction. They’re aggressive. They’re not here to protect and serve us.”

A 9 pm curfew was declared. Around 8:50 p.m., police said they would arrest anyone who refused to leave the area around the park. They deployed a piercingly loud sound cannon and marched through the streets as protesters fled.

It is unclear if anyone was arrested. Two protesters showed reporters bloody wounds from rubber bullets. It was a violent end to a largely peaceful day.

In the afternoon, before the clashes began, Genevieve Henriquez marched among the crowd with her two children, ages 9 and 18.

“We want them to see the injustice thats going on in the world,” Henriquez said. “We’re trying to teach them to be aware, not to be complacent.”

—Nicholas Nehamas and Sarah Blaskey

Fort Lauderdale declares state of emergency

The city of Fort Lauderdale declared a state of emergency Sunday evening following confrontations between police and crowds gathered on the street downtown and off Las Olas Boulevard.

Police could not immediately say what led to the clashes, in which officers fired tear gas toward crowds gathered following a peaceful march by protesters gathered to speak out against the killing of George Floyd.

“At this time, I can confirm that chemical munitions were deployed in the area of SE 2nd Street and SE 1st Avenue,” Det. Ali Adamson, a police spokeswoman, wrote in an email. “For details related to the specifics of the deployment, I will have to get back to you at a later time.”

Mayor Dean Trantalis scheduled a 10 p.m. press conference at Fort Lauderdale Police headquarters.

—David Smiley

Police shoot tear gas canisters in Fort Lauderdale

Police in Fort Lauderdale fired tear gas into a crowd of protesters near the downtown public library at about 7 p.m. Sunday, the first sign of conflict in what had otherwise been a day of peaceful demonstrations.

Police shot the canisters toward a crowd of about 100 people carrying signs and chanting “F*ck the police” in the area of Southeast First Street and Southeast First Avenue. The confrontation began after a large crowd of more than 1,000 people gathered on Las Olas Boulevard, marched west toward the Fort Lauderdale Police headquarters, and then returned to the downtown area.

The confrontation began when two or three police officers on motorcycles drove through the crowd.

They did not strike anyone. But when more police officers approached, some people began throwing water bottles at the officers.

Police then fired tear gas canisters into the crowd. People scattered. Some threw the canisters back at the police.

Officers in riot gear advanced. The bang of possible percussion grenades rang out. There appeared to be possible injuries.

Information is still developing. This post will be updated as more information becomes available.

*Update: video caught by WPLG-Channel 10 may show the moment that caused people in the crowd to throw water bottles at police. Here it is:

— Nicholas Nehamas

Tense moments as protests approach PortMiami, reach I-395

Tensions appear to be growing in Miami as an 8 p.m. curfew looms. But there have not been any clashes between officers and protesters, even as police warned some protesters that they had gathered unlawfully and hundreds streamed onto the highway connecting Miami and South Beach.

At 5:45 p.m., on Biscayne Blvd. across from the Freedom Tower, Miami Police warned over loud speakers that protesters had gathered in an “unlawful assembly” as crowds gathered on Port Boulevard, the road that leads to PortMiami. Police said protesters had 15 minutes to leave the area between Bayside Marketplace and Biscayne Boulevard.

A line of officers carrying riot shields formed, and at one point began to march toward demonstrators.

The protest, which had been mostly peaceful all of Sunday afternoon, had only resulted in minor arguments that erupted in front of a line of police in front of Bayside Marketplace and the AmericanAirlines Arena. Police read out Florida state statute that allowed them to use force if protesters refused to follow order.

“All protesters must immediately and peacefully disperse,” one Miami police agent said over a speaker shortly before 6p.m. If not, he warned, protesters could be arrested or subject to “other police actions... You have 5 minutes remaining.”

By 5:51 p.m., most of the crowd had dispersed. Some activists announced over a megaphone that anyone who needed medical assistance, water, food or teargas solution could head to a tent that organizers set up on Northeast Eighth Street.

Shortly after, hundreds of protesters streamed west from downtown toward the Interstate-395, where they walked up an on-ramp to the west-bound lanes. Florida Highway Patrol troopers blocked west-bound traffic as demonstrators collected on the highway and then gathered in a line with batons in hand.

Live overhead footage from CBS Miami showed protesters form their own line a good distance away.

—Bianca Padró Ocasio, Charles Rabin and David Smiley

Police director warns of ‘dangerous actors with ulterior motives’

Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez said on Twitter Sunday afternoon that “dangerous actors with ulterior motives” are instigating conflict amid demonstrations. He said police will not allow destruction.

“To the residents of @MiamiDadeCounty, and to those who are lawfully and peacefully protesting, we all agree that the death of Mr. George Floyd was both tragic and abusive. Please understand that we are all in agreement that justice needs to be served,” Ramirez tweeted.

“As we monitor the demonstrations, its becoming very evident that there are some very dangerous actors with ulterior motives within these just protests. We ask our community and its leaders to now allow these negative influences to discredit this just cause. Please understand, that as we watch these actors providing our residents with bricks, rocks, and other weapons designed to cause destruction to our police, our infrastructure, and our community as a whole, we as YOUR police department have a responsibility to protect our community.

“We will continue to support your right to protest the unjust death of Mr. George Floyd, but we will NOT allow the destruction of our businesses and community as a whole.”

— David Smiley

Miami demonstrators joined by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello

Demonstrators gathered in downtown Miami marched from the American Airlines Arena late Sunday afternoon and turned on Miami Avenue. The organizers holding a banner that said “Defund the Police. Close the Jails. Shelter the People.” They turned and stood in front of the Federal Detention Center on 33 NE 4th Street.

Among the group: musicians Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello.

Detainees inside the federal building banged on their windows, creating a murmur that could be heard over the hundreds of protesters chanting below.

“Free them all!” the group chanted, before circling back toward Bayside Marketplace.

—Bianca Padró Ocasio and Joey Flechas

Florida National Guard activated in response to protests

The spokeswoman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that additional members of the Florida National Guard were activated Saturday in response to demonstrations around the state. National Guard medics and other personnel had already been activated to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Yesterday, Governor DeSantis activated the National Guard and currently there are 150 guardsmen in Miramar, 350 in Camp Blanding and 100 arrived in Tampa at 4 pm today,” spokeswoman Helen Ferré told the Miami Herald. “Cities may put in a mission request from the Florida National Guard through their county emergency management which is the same process followed for hurricanes. [Tampa] Mayor [Jane] Castor, in conjunction with the Hillsborough County, requested Florida National Guard support for critical infrastructure protection and local law enforcement. These specially trained units support law enforcement in various ways such as traffic and crowd control, all that is necessary for preserving the peace and public safety.”

—Mary Ellen Klas

Protesters amass off Las Olas, march down Broward Boulevard

Hundreds of protesters marched through downtown Fort Lauderdale Sunday afternoon.

Police in cruisers and on motorcycles cleared traffic ahead of marchers as they strode through busy streets around 4:45 pm. At one point, the Crowd knelt at the intersection of Andrews Avenue and SW 2nd Street. “We tell the whole wide world this is people’s territory, they chanted.

The crowd initially gathered in Huizenga Plaza Sunday afternoon following last-minute change of location from Lauderhill to Fort Lauderdale. More than a thousand people showed up. They ultimately marched west, down Broward Boulevard, to the Fort Lauderdale Police headquarters.

Before leaving they raised a flag on the department’s flagpole. It read: “Justice for some”

Earlier, at Huizenga Plaza, organizers emphasized non-violence and non-engagement with the police to attendees. Police presence was minimal as of 4:30 pm.

“This action is being led by black women,” Tifanny Burks, a co-organizer and activist with Black Lives Matter Alliance of Broward, told the crowd. “Trust our leadership...we know how to get results. You all need to fall in line with that.”

The crowd cheered so loudly she had to pause for nearly a minute before continuing her speech.

Kristen Herisse, 20, of Pompano Beach, said so many people showed up Sunday because “we are tired of sitting and talking.”

“Being Black is a crime in America,” Herisse said. “Enough is enough.”

Volunteer medics distributed masks and water. A group of more than a dozen white attendees volunteered to serve as a physical barrier between people of color and police if necessary.

“I thought it was the best way to help,” said Nick Montecalvo, a high school debate teacher in Broward County. He said he hopes his students learn that protest is an effective means for change.

Protestors wore masks, but social distancing was difficult in the park’s amphitheater. The coronavirus pandemic was not far from people’s minds. Members of the Palm Beach County Tenants Union attended the rally because they are concerned about a statewide moratorium on evictions that expires soon.

“We’re about to see a wave of police violence against black and brown tenants,” said Adam Wasserman of the tenants group.

As the crowd chanted “No justice, no peace,” boats full of shirtless and bikini-clad partiers motored by on the New River blasting music.

— Sarah Blaskey and Nicholas Nehamas

Miami Police Chief: Most arrested Saturday were ‘outsiders’

A group of Miami city officials, faith leaders and Miami Heat veteran Udonis Haslem called for the arrest of three Minneapolis officers who watched Chauvin put his knee on Floyd’s neck while pleading for peaceful protests on Sunday.

“What we say to Miami today is peace be still,” said Gaston Smith, senior pastor at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Overtown.

City officials, including Mayor Francis Suarez and Police Chief Jorge Colina, condemned the looting and destruction of police vehicles seen Saturday, casting violent protesters as agitators from outside the community.

“Of the 57 people that were arrested, 13 of those 57 live in the city of Miami. OK? So, we have Minnesota, New York. Georgia. People from outside of the county ... [who] were arrested,” Colina said. The reason I think that’s significant is: Please don’t make the mistake of letting someone from outside suck you in to destroy our city.”

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, posted clip of Colina’s comments on Twitter. Rubio has asserted that “domestic violent extremists have infiltrated, hijacked & taken advantage of the protests” around the country.

The city of Miami is a relatively small portion of larger Miami-Dade County. It was unclear if police had more than just home addresses on identifications to say that most people arrested were “outsiders.”

Commissioner Keon Hardemon, the city Miami’s only African American commissioner, said generations of frustration are on display, and he came dressed to demonstrate. But he said businesses that have just reopened in the midst of the economic downturn from the pandemic deserve to be left in peace.

Haslem echoed Hardemon in asking for people to separate from anyone inciting violence.

“Like Keon said, you got to part like the Red Sea when you see that foolishness coming,” Haslem said.

Haslem said he wanted to personally get involved in improving police relations with the community, pointing to family members in the department. He said as a black man raising black kids in America, he felt the fear and frustration being expressed.

“I stand here confused, torn, frustrated,” he said. “I want to be part of the solution.”

Officials warned protesters not to violate Sunday nights’ curfew or they will be arrested. As the press conference ended, police formed a phalanx at each end of the block in front of police headquarters.

— Joey Flechas and David Smiley

IMMIGRATION AGENTS TO MONITOR PROTESTS

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers were dispatched to protests in Miami-Dade and Broward Sunday, federal immigration sources told the Miami Herald.

The presence of federal immigration officers and agents comes hours after peaceful protests turned violent Saturday night in Miami.

In a statement, the agency acknowledged that federal officers were sent to cities nationwide to support local and state law enforcement, but declined to disclose which areas.

Customs and Border Protection “is currently deploying officers, agents and aviation assets across the country at the request of our federal, state and local partners confronting the lawless actions of rioters,” said CBP spokesman Rob Brisley. “CBP carries out its mission nationwide, not just at the border, consistent with federal laws and policies.”

The agency would not comment on whether officers would be checking people’s immigration status.

CBP agents, according to federal law, don’t need a warrant to operate “within a reasonable distance from any external boundary of the United States.”

The law defines a “reasonable distance” as 100 air miles from a coastal border — which covers the entire state of Florida.

“While most Border Patrol work is conducted in the immediate border area, agents have broad law enforcement authority and are not limited to a specific geography within the United States,” CBP has told the Herald. “They have the authority to question individuals, make arrests, and take and consider evidence.”

When CBP encounters someone without proof of legal status — such as a green card or visa paperwork, as required by federal law — the person is immediately detained and temporarily held in CBP custody before being transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Enforcement Removal Operations.

— By Monique O. Madan

PROTEST IN DOWNTOWN MIAMI

On Sunday afternoon, about a hundred people, including some families pushing babies in strollers, showed up at the Torch of Friendship in downtown Miami, just a few steps away from the Bayfront Marketplace stores that were looted Saturday night.

The demonstration was organized in part by Muslim organizations in South Florida, including the ICNA Council for Social Justice. Some protesters, who held up signs that read “Muslims 4 Floyd” and “Black Lives Matter,” were drawn to the demonstrations after seeing images of Saturday’s massive protests.

Jose Eduardo Vanegas Jr., 21, said he drove two hours on Sunday morning from Clewiston, Florida, a small town near Lake Okeechobee.

“I heard about yesterday,” said Vanegas, adding that he was joining today’s protests demanding justice for George Floyd. “Until we’re tired, until we’re dehydrated, we’re going to fight.“

“The same thing is happening in small towns,” Vanegas added. “I mean, in the city of course there’s a lot more people, but in the small towns, it happens a lot and that’s what people aren’t seeing.”

Representatives from a number of activist organizations, including the Dream Defenders, which advocates for ending prisons and policing, spoke in front of the growing crowd of protesters, demanding police accountability.

Mohammad Asad, board member of ICNA Council for Social Justice, said the organization was also part of Saturday’s protests before demonstrators clashed with police downtown.

“I don’t know what happened after everybody dispersed, I think some of the things went out of hand in some of the groups. That is sad,” said Asad.

He added that Muslim groups have felt targeted by police in their communities since the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York and feel compeled to protest against the suffering of black Americans.

“After 9/11 we did suffer ... and realized what was going on. We need to stand up against whatever injustice with anybody,” Asad said. “This is not a one time thing we have to stand up and we need to stay on top of it.”

Activists also called for protesters to join a march to the American Airlines Arena from the Torch of Friendship once the protest’s program ended.

At the arena, hundreds of demonstrators gathered as activists read out the black persons killed in incidents of police brutality.

“We are here because we are angry, we are here because we are mourning,” one organizer said through a megaphone. “Keep in mind police are not our friends... So what we’re going to do is we’re going to march.”

“But keep it keel y’all, we don’t want anybody going to jail where COVID” is affecting prisoners, the speaker said.

— Bianca Padró Ocasio

BEACH OPENING CANCELED

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez canceled the planned reopening of local beaches on Monday morning — delaying one of the most anticipated milestones in the unwinding of emergency measures imposed in March to fight the spread of coronavirus.

Gimenez said the beaches would remain closed until he lifts a countywide curfew, which begins at 9 p.m. on Sunday.

The mayor’s announcement preserves the planned reopening of community pools and the lifting of booking restrictions on hotels, both set for Monday.

The planned June 1 reopening of the coast in South Beach and beyond was designed to be the kick-off to reviving the county’s tourism industry and give residents back a favorite diversion after 10 weeks of closure under COVID-19 orders.

On WPLG-Channel 10’s Sunday morning show, “This Week in South Florida,” he said that moment could come soon and beaches “hopefully can open on Tuesday.”

— By Douglas Hanks

BROWARD DEMONSTRATION PLANNED

A protest against police brutality planned in Lauderhill for Sunday afternoon will go forward at a different location, organizers said, after city attempts to reschedule over perceived safety concerns and fears of overcrowding.

“They don’t have the power to cancel something that is our basic human right,” said Tifanny Burks, co-organizer of the event and an activist with Black Lives Matter Alliance of Broward. “They don’t have the authority to do that.”

The protest was moved to Huizenga Park, 32 East Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, from 3 to 6 p.m., organizers said.

The demonstration had originally been planned in coordination with the city to take place at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center. But late Saturday the city said in a statement that “in an effort to… produce a safe and secure event, the City of Lauderhill felt it was in the best interest of attendees and the surrounding community to work with the organizers to postpone the event.”

Mayor Ken Thurston said the city had expected 200 people to attend, but learned from social media that the crowd might swell to over 1,000. Thurston said he had hoped to reschedule for next weekend when the city could secure more space and backup from the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

“All we want to do is protect the public, protect the protestors,” he said. “We have been cooperative. It is just not possible to proceed today in a safe fashion.”

Organizers called the city’s message misleading and said they never agreed to cancel.

In a Sunday morning tweet, Black Lives Matter Alliance of Broward said: “Just to be clear, our protest is still on and active! We stand together in solidarity not just to make a statement but so we know that we are here for each other. We stand together for the lives lost, our children, ourselves and our right to justice.”

Shevrin Jones, a Democratic state representative from Broward involved in organizing the protest, said the city now plans to barricade the area where people had planned to meet, after originally agreeing to set up a stage and portable bathrooms.

“They said they don’t have the resources to take care of it,” Jones said. “I said to the city that it is in the best interest that we find a way to still allow them to express themselves. Shutting it down completely will cause a huge problem.”

Organizers said they expect Sunday’s protest in to be peaceful. The BLM Alliance said it trained 80 volunteers in de-escalation techniques in preparation for the protest.

— By Sarah Blaskey and Nicholas Nehamas

WHERE DID AGITATORS COME FROM?

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said Saturday night that “professional agitators” had incited Saturday night’s violence.

Police arrested 57 people overnight. But only “a small portion” had out-of-state home addresses, said Juan Diasgranados, public affairs manager for Miami-Dade Corrections.

Most of those arrested face charges of violating Miami-Dade’s 10 p.m. curfew, he said.

No deaths have been reported. Kiara Delva, a spokeswoman for Miami police, said in an email that police officers were injured as the protest turned from peaceful to hostile. She said police were compelled to use tear gas and rubber bullets against the crowds.

“Subsequently, officers were forced to take the necessary action to disperse the crowd,” she said.

A total of 17 squad cars were damaged in Saturday night’s protests. “Damages ranged from punctured tires to burning of vehicles,” she said.

— By Daniel Chang

This story was originally published May 31, 2020 at 1:40 PM with the headline "Protest live updates: Ft. Lauderdale issues 9 pm curfew after clashes with ‘agitators’."