Read our coverage of the third day of protest in Columbus, Ohio, here.
UPDATE: SATURDAY, 12:10 A.M.
Words have been spray-painted onto buildings and monuments downtown. Storefronts and business have also been damaged.
UPDATE: FRIDAY, 11:55 P.M.
Some protesters are heading south past East Long Street, heading back towards the Ohio statehouse.
UPDATE: FRIDAY, 11:43 P.M.
The windows of Short North business were damaged, including the front windows of Mike’s Grill on North High Street and East Lincoln Street.
Damaged windows of Mike’s Grill on North High Street and East Lincoln Street. Credit: Max Garrison | Asst. Campus Editor
UPDATE: FRIDAY, 11:09 P.M.
Columbus Police report 5 arrests have been made, 2 officers have been injured by protesters throwing rocks and bricks at the police, and some protesters have set off fireworks. The police also report broken windows at businesses in the Short North area.
Read more below:
Protesters south of the intersection of North High Street and Fifth Avenue after police blocked the road. Credit: Max Garrison | Asst. Campus Editor
Protesters gathered downtown for the second night of demonstrations to express their frustrations following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis police custody Monday, and to demand change.
More than 100 protesters marched north through the Short North District after Columbus Police blocked another group near Broad Street where the protest started. The initial crowd began around the Columbus Police department downtown, and after police ordered the crowd to disperse, several groups split up around Broad Street. At least one group moved north but was stopped below Fifth Avenue.
Police used pepper spray, mounted units and shields in attempts to disperse the crowd downtown, and pepper spray was used with the group near Fifth Avenue after a protester threw a glass bottle at police. The majority of the group remains peaceful.
A state of emergency was declared downtown for a second night.
Protesters marched to Broad and High Streets Thursday evening, where they protested the death of Floyd, who died Monday after being arrested by police for allegedly trying to use a counterfeit bill.
A viral video circulated of the arrest, which showed a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, with his knee on Floyd’s neck pinning him to the ground for several minutes. The video captured Floyd pleading with Chauvin saying, “I can’t breathe,” and he later died at the hospital.
Peter Ribar holds a sign with a quote from Malcolm X at a protest on North High Street south of Fifth Avenue. Credit: Max Garrison | Asst. Campus Editor
The protest in Columbus is one of many that have been organized nationwide following Floyd’s death, including Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Denver and Memphis, Texas, demanding Chauvin and the three responding officers involved — who have all been fired — be charged for Floyd’s death.
Thursday’s protests ended in violence. Columbus Police deployed officers on horseback, and around 2:00 a.m. some protesters attempted to storm the Statehouse and broke windows with their bodies or assorted objects, while others destroyed storefronts and upended trash cans.
Storefronts were damaged Thursday and included Poke Bros at 100 E. Gay St., Latitude 41 at 50 N. Third St. and the Ohio Theatre at 39 E. State St.
Protesters also damaged bus stops and vehicles.
Sarah Szilagy, Max Garrison, Owen Milnes, Sam Raudins and Jack Long contributed reporting
