Police Line Up to Push Back on Rioters After Store Windows Smashed in Louisville, Unlawful Assembly Declared

An unlawful assembly has been declared by police in Louisville, KY after things started getting out of hand, although it is yet to be determined if the declaration will tone things down or simply exacerbate the awful turmoil that residents are seeing in their city. We have been reporting on the situation for a few hours, in part using many of Brendan Gutenschager’s videos being posted to his Twitter feed.

After the announcement of the grand jury that decided to only charge one officer and not the one involved in shooting Breonna Taylor, protesters and rioters have slowly escalated throughout the day. As it stands now the police are starting to show force, and we will see how it holds up. @BGOnTheScene reported:

“Unlawful assembly declared, police are making an announcement via portable speaker #Louisville #LouisvilleProtest“

Unlawful assembly declared, police are making an announcement via portable speaker #Louisville #LouisvilleProtest pic.twitter.com/BJGLVJcM18

— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) September 23, 2020

Police are occupying this intersection at Midland and Bardstown. One officer is giving instructions on potential riot tactics to the line #Louisville #LouisvilleProtest #LMPD pic.twitter.com/dV7MDL1PMU

— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) September 23, 2020

Protesters surround a man trying to defend his business, and begin smashing the windows #Louisville #BreonnaTaylor #LouisvilleProtests pic.twitter.com/ZeMAuccr4e

— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) September 23, 2020

Shortly before the police stepped up their game, a man trying to defend his business was surrounded by rioters and they began smashing windows. It’s unclear how the rioters think smashing a business owner’s windows will change the mind of a grand jury, or change the outcome of any case, but apparently these groups who may be funded by outside forces feel it is something they must do. Previously we reported in part on table and chair flippers at another restaurant:

The most recent clip from riot thread poster @BGOnTheScene shows some rioters vandalizing a restaurant as they march through town, while at least one screams ‘NO, DON’T VANDALIZE!” It’s hard to see who’s yelling for sure, but sadly the folks tearing up the tables and chairs in the clip don’t appear to care. 

The question now is whether or not the worst is over, or if we will see things escalate to more vandalism and possible violence overnight. We hope that things stay safe though, and that violence does not occur. Stay tuned for more potential updates to the fluid situation in Kentucky now.