By Eric McDaniel
Photo credit: Jonathon Gruenke.
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, was killed due to an act of police brutality in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Floyd was pinned to the ground by the knee of police officer Derek Chauvin, who was later charged with Floyd’s murder. Many people witnessed this act, and it was captured on video that went viral around the nation. Floyd’s death triggered a summer of protests and civil unrest across the United States.
Virginia Beach on May 31. Photo credit: Pearse Riendeau.
Six days after Floyd’s death, on May 31, hundreds of people gathered in Virginia Beach on Atlantic Avenue and the Virginia Beach Oceanfront in a Black Lives Matter protest against police brutality. This protest quickly turned chaotic. Pearse Riendeau (‘22), Zach Darling (‘22), and I were on vacation in Virginia Beach and saw first-hand what happened.
Riendeau says, “When we left our hotel, Oceanaire, to see what was going on, a police officer was outside and told us that we only had around ten minutes left until we had to be back for the mandated curfew.” Enforcing this curfew was a struggle, as the protest lasted until 2 a.m. of the following day. Darling was shocked by the sight of “police lined up at almost every street on the Oceanfront to make sure nobody went anywhere they weren’t supposed to.” McDaniel said, “we followed crowds and the blue lights and took a few detours until we came upon the mass of people around at the Oceanfront.”
Photo credit: Eric McDaniel
Around 8 p.m., the protest started as a peaceful one. Around 9:45 p.m., some of the protesters started partaking in criminal activity. Darling said, “At the beginning, when the protest was perfectly peaceful, the protestors had the support of the police and many others. But once windows started being broken and people were being threatened is when things started to get out of hand.” Riendeau added, “When we arrived, things were already somewhat crazy, and people were shouting and chanting. It seemed as if the police were only there to make sure things didn’t turn violent, but unfortunately they did.”
The peaceful protest, which started with marching and loud chants, later turned chaotic. Riendeau stated, “I saw protesters storming police vehicles. Some of the protesters were throwing rocks at stores and officers.” McDaniel says that, “the screams and the sight of broken glass on the sidewalks made us realize that things were getting out of control, which led to our decision to go back to our hotel before things could escalate.”
Broken glass at a storefront on Atlantic Ave. in Virginia Beach. Photo credit: Eric McDaniel.
As protesters threw rocks and dealt damage to buildings, the police deployed tear gas, which led to people dispersing throughout the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. The protest was declared an unlawful assembly, and people were advised to leave. Witnesses also claimed to have heard gunshots. The protest ultimately led to the damage of 48 businesses, and Atlantic Avenue was filled with damaged property. As a result, there were 19 arrests, and Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency in Virginia.
In other protests going on across the country, such as the ones that took place in Minneapolis, police precincts were taken over, stores were looted, and buildings were set on fire. In response to all of this unrest, the National Guard was called in, and officers sprayed tear gas.
Richmond also experienced protests, which during which protesters were also tear-gassed, and much of the activity centered around opposition to the Confederate statues on Monument Avenue.
Many peaceful activists around the country decried the violence and destruction. In June, Terrence Floyd, George Floyd’s younger brother came out and advised people in Minneapolis to protest peacefully because violence ‘won’t bring my brother back.”
Watch video compiled by Eric McDaniel from May 31 in Virginia Beach.
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