I was at the #BostonProtest from 7 until roughly 9:30.
Don’t believe the narrative being pushed by the @bostonpolice, @marty_walsh, the media.
The protests were peaceful. The police were not.
A thread:
First, I want to give a shout-out to the organizers of the event. They put together a march in a short amount of time. I saw plenty of march wardens keeping things tidy, legal observers keeping a careful eye, people passing out masks and water every block or so. Amazing work.
The route passed underneath @TuftsMedical. Medical staff lined the windows and cheered the crowd on, and the crowd responded in kind.
We had each other’s back. Solidarity.
Police presence had been minimal so far. These three @MBTATransitPD officers (plus a fourth off camera) were the only ones I had seen up to this point.
@BostonProtest wound onto the Common and in front of the State House. The atmosphere was lively but peaceful. I’ve been to many Boston protests in my 9 years here and I’ve never seen such sustained energy. But there were warning signs.
The parts of the Common leading to the State House were cordoned off, separating large swathes of the protest from each other. You couldn’t even hear or see one another. It also meant the wardens and observers couldn’t do their jobs.
Meanwhile, @bostonpolice were assembling.
Because of this balkanization, #BostonProtest dissolved into a sort of merry chaos. There was at least two major sections on the Common chanting, one big group in front of the State House , and maybe 5 ppl started spray-painting.
Many started heading to Park St station.
This was where it went all wrong. @marty_walsh, the @bostonpolice, someone had decided to close the station, with no signs or instructions about where to go.
30+ cops with batons were parked on Winter St, in direct line of sight.
Make no mistake: this was a show of force.
If @marty_walsh and @bostonpolice wanted to keep the peace, they would have kept the station open or shuttle busses waiting to take ppl to other stations. This is basic de-escalation – give people an out, they’ll take it.
This was deliberate. BPD wanted a fight. #bostonprotests
Some kids started fronting with the BPD. Young, black and brown and white, not black bloc or #antifas. I didn’t see anything thrown but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t. That said, @bostonpolice are trained professionals. What peace officer wants to fight KIDS? @bostonpolice is who
Around 9ish, @bostonpolice threw an explosive device and rushed the crowd. I saw it from the steps of @ParkStChurch Despite the provocation, ppl remained calm. They retreated to the Common side, held their hands up, let police cars thru. Then BPD started advancing.
BPD deployed tear gas. Reinforcements from both sides started arriving. I retreated down Tremont, onto Bromfield. A police cruiser was pushed back before a handful of cops rushed in. They were badly outnumbered and didn’t know what to do.
The crowd had their hands up but the cops looked scared and ready to swing their batons. To defuse the situation, me and a few others formed a wall to give the cops a route out.
To reiterate: CIVILIANS were de-escalating a situation that @bostonpolice cops needlessly created.
At this point I decided to head home. This would be a dangerous situation in any circumstance, but especially so in a pandemic.
Downtown Crossing was closed. So was Government Center. I had to walk all the way to North Station to get on a bus. @MBTA should be ashamed.
To sum up:
The protest was well-organized and peaceful.
@marty_walsh and @bostonpolice created a dangerous situation by enforcing a curfew while giving people no way to get home.
It is they bear the brunt of the guilt, not the people of Boston.
To those of you who lament the violence caused by protestors, I ask why you are so willing to turn a blind eye to violence enacted by the police? Any violence is lamentable. But violence enacted by those with greater means and a history of brutality is far more deplorable.