Approaching the fifth night of his curfew, Gov. Doug Ducey addressed the ongoing curfew order, praised the peaceful protests, and pledged to bring looters to justice at a news conference Thursday.
Ducey said officials would protect the rights of protesters but also keep residents and their properties safe from rioters.
“Thousands upon thousands have come out to have their voices heard day-after-day, to exercise their First Amendment rights,” he said. “A much smaller group that wanted to riot and loot have come out as well. I want to say ‘thank you’ to the women and men on the front lines who protect and serve us every day in the state of Arizona.”
Ducey said his curfew would remain in place as a “tool for law enforcement to protect law and order” through the weekend. He didn’t say that he would extend the order.
The curfew, which begins nightly at 8 p.m. and extends to 5 a.m., began Sunday evening and is set to expire on Monday morning.
Col. Heston Silbert, director of the Department of Public Safety, praised the protesters but, at the same time, criticized a “small contingent” of people intent on destroying property.
“I would say there are some people who have hijacked the cause and didn’t do honor to the death of George Floyd by looting and rioting, but I will tell you, everything I have seen from the citizens of Arizona, the manner in which they’ve protested, has been a commentary to their character and really to our state,” Silbert said.
There are currently more than 1,400 guardsmen deployed in Arizona to assist law enforcement, according to Adjutant General Michael McGuire, director of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs.
