Protest live updates: Traffic blocked again in Miami, but smaller crowds than before
Thursday marked the sixth day of protests in South Florida, and across the nation, in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The crowds were small for the second straight day.
But they still managed to again block Biscayne Boulevard at Northeast Third Street in downtown Miami.
The protesters started blocking traffic entirely at Biscayne Blvd and Northeast Third Street around 7:20 pm, briefly backing away only to let a public bus drive through.
“Whose streets? Our streets!” they chanted, along with “black lives matter!” and “say his name, George Floyd!”
In response, Miami police set up a blockade several blocks south so cars would be diverted down Northeast First Street and around the protesters.
“All day, every day,” the group chanted.
Before the police diverted traffic, one man in the passenger seat of a car confronted a protester, screaming as he said he needed to get through to go home. After a brief shouting match, the car followed dozens of others in turning left onto Third Street.
The protest started when a small group of about six people began blocking one lane of traffic at the intersection around 5:15 p.m. Thursday.
One held a large American flag in the air, wearing a shirt that said “Love Trumps hate.” Another held a sign reading “Breathing for Floyd #BlackLivesMatter.”
As of around 5:30 p.m., the police hadn’t engaged with the group, which blared music over a loudspeaker. Several cars honked their horns in support as they drove by, moving into the left three lanes to avoid the protesters.
The group came out after a rainy afternoon gave way to cloudy skies and a cool breeze.
“As long as people are always out here, whether it’s four or 400, people are gonna think about it in their daily lives,” said Samara Rodriguez, 20.
Rodriguez stood in the road with her mother, Maricela Salazar. The pair said they live in Denton, Texas, but are visiting Salazar’s mother who lives in Miami.
“We’re keeping the momentum because, rain or shine people need to continue to come out, not let up,” Salazar said. “This is nowhere near to the end. We need change and we need it now.“
By around 6:15 p.m., the group had grown to about 15 people.
The loosely organized group came from near and far. Shama Noel, 15, said she came down from Naples after seeing information on social media about the daily 3 p.m. gatherings at the Torch of Friendship outside Bayside Marketplace in Miami.
“What happened to George Floyd shouldn’t be happening to anybody else,” Noel said. “The black community has suffered for way too long and we need to see change.”
At around 6:30 pm, the protesters began blocking the far left lane, too, leaving only the middle two lanes free to cars that slowed down to avoid the group. Three city of Miami police cars idled nearby outside Bayside Marketplace, but officers continued to ignore the protesters.
Some in the group said it was the first protest they had attended since Floyd’s killing — or even the first protest they had ever attended.
“We wanted to come all together and this was the first night we could all do it together,” said Zoe Cross, a 22-year old senior at the University of Miami. Cross attended the protest with two friends, Amanda Caban and Costanza Musetti, who grew up together in Miami and all attended Miami Country Day.
Cross and Caban said this was their first protest.
“I was heartbroken and disgusted by what all the cops did, [including] the bystanders not doing anything,” Cross said of Floyd’s death.
“I want to use my privilege to say something, to speak out,” said Caban.
Here’s what else is going on as of early Thursday evening:
▪ A private memorial service for Floyd began at 2p.m. at North Central University in downtown Minneapolis. Among those in attendance: Rev. Jesse Jackson, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar; Reps. Ilhan Omar, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Ayana Pressley and Joyce Beatty; rappers T.I., with his wife Tiny, Ludacris, and Tyrese Gibson; comedians Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish; and actress Marsai Martin. The Rev. Al Sharpton gave the eulogy. The Associated Press has a recap.
▪ While most of the country’s biggest cities, including some in Florida, are seeing demonstrations intensify over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Miami has emerged as a peaceful outlier. Samantha J. Gross and Bianca Padro Ocasio explain why.
▪ The Fort Lauderdale Police Department has opened an internal investigation into an officer who shot a woman in the head with a foam rubber bullet at a protest on Sunday, fracturing her eye socket and leaving her bloody and stunned. Nicholas Nehamas and Sarah Blaskey have the details.
▪ Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores, one of just three black coaches in the NFL, spoke out Thursday on George Floyd’s death, racism, police misconduct and how he hopes his players direct their emotions.
“What happened was a tragedy,” Flores said. “For me right now, there’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of anger, a lot of emotion, a lot of emotions.”
This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 6:18 PM.
