Dozens of Washington, D.C., protesters found their way into a home to evade law enforcement officials trying to maintain control of the city.
As protests over George Floyd’s death in police custody continued late Monday night despite a 7 p.m. curfew put in place by Mayor Muriel Bowser, law enforcement officers trapped protesters on a small side street in northwest D.C., in what may have been a kettling tactic intended to box in a crowd before conducting a mass arrest.
With police lines cutting off access on Swann St. between 14th St. and 15th St., dozens of protesters were quickly ushered into the home of a man who lived nearby.
The DCist spoke to Meka, 22, who said he was one of about 50 people who were able to seek refuge in Rahul Dubey’s home, but other accounts have indicated that there were upwards of 100 people in the house. The resident allowed the protesters to stay on all three levels of his home until the mayor’s curfew ended at 6 a.m. Dubey described the scene on the block as a “human tsunami” to Washington Post reporter Derek Hawkins.
“I opened a door,” he said. “You would have done the same thing.”
Around 9:30 p.m, officers used tear gas on the protesters trapped on Swann St. while demanding they “move back” so that everyone was in tighter quarters. This reporter was among the group of protesters who were sealed within the area. A few people were arrested after being surrounded.
“I think everyone’s alright right now, but it took a while for everyone to stop coughing,” Meka said, following the police use of chemical irritants. “Everyone was kind of on edge earlier, but we’ve been here for long enough that people are starting to relax.”
About an hour after using the tear gas, officers started picking up the pace on arrests, requesting that males surrender and voluntarily enter police custody.
Dubey, who was given a round of applause by protesters and supporters, offered words of encouragement to those he helped as they left his home when the curfew was lifted Tuesday morning.
Rahul Dubey, the man who welcomed protesters into his home, gets a round of appause from protesters and supporters @ABC7News @ABC7GMW pic.twitter.com/IDISrnPTcx
— Kristen Powers (@ABC7Kristen) June 2, 2020
“Make sure you take care of that mental health, strength, so we can continue to go out there to rise peacefully with intelligence and make a solid argument. I love you guys,” he said, according to WUSA9, the D.C. CBS affiliate.
