A MAN was captured on video pointing what appeared to be a gun at Black Lives Matter protesters in Columbia, South Carolina.
Protesters had gathered outside the SC State House on the five year anniversary of the Confederate flag’s removal from the State House grounds when they say gun was pointed at them.
A number of protesters were gathered in the median of the middle of Gervais Street across the road from the State House and waving placards at passing cars, The State reported.
At one point, they had a confrontation with a driver at the Main Street stoplight, which was captured on a phone.
The driver “pulled up sticking his middle finger out”, Kamison Burgess told the local paper.
“He stopped in the middle of the road at the green light and said ‘All lives matter,” the protester said.
“One of the girls, she was explaining ‘Yes, all lives matter, but they can’t matter at the moment until Black lives matter.
“At that point in time, he drove up a little more, the light was still green, and he started fidgeting around inside his car, and he pointed a gun out at us.”
“At that point in time, he drove up a little more, the light was still green, and he started fidgeting around inside his car, and he pointed a gun out at us.”
During the video, protesters can be heard shouting: “He’s got a gun.”
The Columbia Police Department said two officers at the scene responded when protesters called out for assistance
“We encourage citizens to share any additional video they may have with CPD, and to call Crimestoppers with any information,” police information officer Jennifer Timmons said.
Investigators are looking into the incident, and reviewing the video of the driver and his vehicle taken by protesters at the scene.
Earlier this week, a Black Lives Matter mural was defaced and painted over to read “All Lives Matter” this week, shocking pics show.
The mural was painted two weeks ago in Illinois in a project led by Cullen Benson – a graduate of the local Oak Park and River Forest High School.
Benson came up with the idea of painting “Black Lives Matter’ in colorful lettering last month.
Benson came up with the idea of painting “Black Lives Matter’ in colorful lettering last month.
Portions of the mural were covered up so that it read “All Lives Matter,” according to the Chicago Tribune.
The mural nods to the colors of the LGBTQ+ pride flag, as well as navy blue and orange, the high school’s colors, according to reports.
The Oak Park Police Department said it was investigating the vandalism and that officials expressed “sadness and disappointed” after the mural was defaced.
They said that police have gathered evidence and officers “hope it will help identify the vandals.”
On Wednesday, NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio was jeered as he helped to paint the Black Lives Matter mural on Fifth Avenue outside Trump Tower.
Outside the president’s building, de Blasio declared that “everyone is accountable under the law, whether they wear a business suit or a uniform.”
He vowed “To identify the institutional racism and tear it down” in the Big Apple as the mass protests continue.
It comes after a Black Lives Matter protester knocked down and killed by a car on a Seattle highway earlier this week.
The crash killed 24-year-old protester Summer Taylor and seriously injured 32-year-old Diaz Love.
Last week eight-year-old Secoriea Turner was killed in Atlanta when her mother drove through an illegal barricade set up by activists near where African American Rayshard Brooks was shot on June 12.
The fast food outlet was later burned, and the area has since become a site for frequent Black Lives Matter demonstrations against police brutality.
The following evening a 53-year-old man was shot dead near the burned down Wendy’s restaurant.
Protests have been ongoing across the US following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in police custody on May 25.
The video showing police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes has been a catalyst for the protests that have rocked the nation, amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
