Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin has announced that a curfew will be in effect for the city beginning at 8 p.m. on Monday, June 1, and continuing through 5 a.m. on Tuesday, June 2. Baldwin says that the curfew will be in effect daily until rescinded.
The announcement follows two nights of charged protests in downtown Raleigh. Both nights began as peaceful demonstrations demanding justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, and other victims of police brutality.
The protests escalated after police directed tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowds. Many businesses downtown were destroyed and looted; the INDY‘s Raleigh office among them.
“By setting a curfew, my hope is that this will allow our community to pause, collect ourselves, begin to repair the damage, and turn our focus to the important work of finding connection and commonality,” Baldwin said in a statement. “There are so many people hurting throughout this city, and we need to come together peacefully and as one community.”
On Sunday afternoon—the fifth day of the unrest following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, and the second night of protests in Raleigh—Governor Roy Cooper called the National Guard into Raleigh and Charlotte.
Baldwin had also signed a state of emergency on Sunday allowing a curfew to be enacted but had held off on imposing it. Things got off to a rocky start early on in the evening when police blasted tear gas at a peaceful crowd blocking the road, stating that they needed to disperse the crowd to make room for an EMS vehicle.
The emergency vehicle, however, never appeared. For a second night, the protest evolved into a riot, as groups of people defaced confederate monuments, smashed storefront windows, and started street fires.
Numerous cities across the country have imposed curfews, following the protests, including Fayetteville, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Washington D.C.
The Raleigh curfew restricts travel inside city limits and requires individuals to stay at home, except for medical emergencies. The curfew does not apply to medical professionals, public safety workers, hospital workers, military personnel, public transportation personnel, public utilities personnel, and journalists. Violation of the curfew, a Class 2 misdemeanor, can result in a fine up to $1,000 and up to 60 days in jail.
Full details of the curfew can be found here .
Contact deputy arts and culture editor Sarah Edwards at sedwards@indyweek.com.
DEAR READERS, WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW MORE THAN EVER. Support independent local journalism by joining the INDY Press Club today. Your contributions will keep our fearless watchdog reporting and essential arts and culture coverage viable in the Triangle, coronavirus be damned.
