Saturday evening, Black Unity supporters met in downtown Springfield to protest against police brutality. The march was in response to Friday’s events.
The last minute protest came after the stand-off the group had with Springfield police the night before. On Friday, tensions escalated when SPD appeared with batons in hand, even though there was no violence or conflict with counter-protesters.
Saturday’s march started at 8pm. It included stand-offs between protesters and police—once when SPD did not allow the group to march on 21st street. Counter-protesters showed up throughout the night, and at least one carried an assault rifle.
The march ultimately ended around 12:45pm, lasting roughly five hours.
Earlier on Saturday, KLCC emailed the City of Springfield and SPD to see if they had a comment about Friday night, and their policy on officers not wearing face masks. They did not respond.