Protesters in Astoria take a knee Tuesday @JLa_NYC via Twitter
June 3, 2020 By Michael Dorgan
A peaceful demonstration took place in Astoria Tuesday as protesters lamented the killing of George Floyd.
Hundreds of people gathered at the intersection of Steinway Street and 30th Avenue at around 1 p.m. to protest Floyd’s death that occurred at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer more than a week earlier.
The protest went off without incident, much like a similar demonstration at Astoria Park Monday evening.
Demonstrators on Tuesday held signs that read “racism is the pandemic,” “black lives matter” and “why are you so afraid of peace?”
They chanted Floyd’s name and that of Breonna Taylor – a black woman who was shot eight times by police officers in Kentucky earlier this year.
There was a visible police force present at the pre-planned event. However, there were no reports of violence or arrests made.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was also seen at the protest handing out COVID-19 protection masks.
.@AOC was also in attendance at the Astoria Protest handing out cards for Lawyers and Medical Assistance. THANK YOU!!! pic.twitter.com/ojPlaIhpHP
— Iffy Kaysar (@iffykaysar) June 2, 2020
The demonstrators– at one poignant moment during the protest–knelt, raised their right hand in the air and stayed silent for almost nine minutes.
The moment of silence represented the length of time Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck. Floyd was pronounced dead soon after the incident and Chauvin has been charged with Floyd’s murder.
The demonstrators marched on foot northward along Steinway Street, chanting, “no justice, no peace.” Several vehicles passed in the opposite direction to the protestors and honked their horns in support.
Peaceful Protest in my old neighborhood in Astoria, NY. pic.twitter.com/vqeExxYzEy
— Marcela Escobar-Eck ✊? (@SanDiegoLandUse) June 2, 2020
The crowd marched over to Astoria Boulevard and came to a stop outside the 114th Precinct, which is located at the intersection of 35th Street and Astoria Boulevard..
They were met by police in riot gear who were lined up outside the precinct. The protesters paused, held their hands in the air and chanted “don’t shoot, don’t shoot.”
The crowd then dispersed without any violent engagements with the police.
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14 Comments
It was only peaceful cause they were mostly white and there is nothing to loot on Steinway.
You make a great point: most of the protests are completely peaceful.
But I’m confused–almost all of the protests have been majority white, and yet there was still looting involved in those? That would mean your racist comment didn’t make sense!!
Why doesn’t your racism make sense?!
Good point, Brown had his hands raised in surrender saying “Don’t shoot” before the police killed him.
….but this is about the police murdering George Floyd. If you look in the news it’s something that happened recently.
Remember when covid started a while back and I posted about getting a protection device for your homes? M4 carbine. Well its times like these where there’s no more room for weak handed lefties. It’s time to defend your City, your neighborhood, your block. It’s an election year and FISA docs are coming out. There’s a *huge* power struggle behind the scenes and it may be an ugly summer. The people vying for power would rather see the nation destroyed and people against each other than a strong nation of people working together. An armed neighborhood is a safe neighborhood.
Why could be this unhinged?! Oh right, the people that voted for the president that teargassed peaceful protestors for a picture.
picture shows people on their knees giving the salute, now add after the pandemic, whaaaaaaaat?
The real high-class looters don’t bother with Astoria. They smash and grab for the expensive goodies on 5th Ave and in SOHO.
They are protesting police murdering George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for 9 minutes while he screamed “I can’t breathe.” I’m glad you support them.
Hands up don’t shoot is the myth from Ferguson
That guy was trying to grab the gun from a cop after robbing a store
These kids need an education
I guess no social distancing for them
I didnt know he had a “violent” criminal history and police record. I saw it on the news from a Spanish tv station. He also did videos for adults.
NO JUSTICE NO PEACE WE LOOT AS WE PLEASE
> The crowd then dispersed without any violent engagements with the police
If you actually read any part of the article, you’d know you were completely wrong BEFORE you embarrass yourself.
I know, reading’s hard. Make your whole comment meaningless I’m afraid.
No need to have the word “peaceful” there to make the protest valid. Just write protest.