By CAROLINE BECK, Alabama Daily News
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Capital City saw another night of peaceful protests as the state and nation grapple with the death of George Floyd, a black man killed in police custody in Minnesota.
Unlike certain parts of the country where more shows of force were seen from police and protestors in recent days, Montgomery saw very little, if any, acts of aggression on either side of the protest Monday night.
A crowd of a few hundred marched up and down Dexter Avenue Monday night with chants of “black lives matter” and “no justice, no peace.”
Police stood in a line behind a barricade that was set up earlier in the day to block any access to the state Capitol or surrounding grounds.
As the night drew on, some protestors engaged in conversation with police at the barricade. But no arrests were made or shows of force from the police were seen.
Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed asked Montgomery citizens to stay home in the coming days during a press conference Monday afternoon in an attempt to deter from violence breaking out at protests.
Protests in Birmingham Sunday night saw looting and vandalism to businesses as well as arrests of protestors.
Police announced five minutes before 10 p.m. that protestors would have to disperse due to a curfew set by the city of Montgomery because of the coronavirus pandemic. Two women sat down by the barricade refusing to move but eventually did move after police and other protestors asked that they leave.
Montgomery Police Chief Ernest Finley was present at the downtown protest near the end and interacted calmly with protestors and officers.
In a different part of town, a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee was taken down in front of the high school named after Lee. News reports said that people had been arrested in relation to the incident.
A police presence was also seen at The Shoppes at Eastchase in east Montgomery but officers there told ADN there had been no activity at the mall as of 11 p.m Monday night.