Protests in Downtown Buffalo Escalate, Curfew in Place

After protests in downtown Buffalo about the death of George Floyd escalated, a curfew has been put in place.

More: Buffalo Mayor Brown Issues Video Statement About Local Protests

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At 10:53 pm and 10:58 pm on Saturday (May 30), I received two text alert stating that:

"Mayor Brown declares a State of Emergency in the City of Buffalo and institutes a citywide curfew beginning at 10:30 pm and lasting through 7:00 am. All City residents are herby required to stay home and off of the streets of the City of Buffalo or they will be subject to being charged and arrested." ~ Text alert

Credit: WGRZ

As I was watching protests unfold all day in Minnesota, New York City, Columbus, Ohio, Washington D.C. and various other cities, a rally started here in Buffalo around 5 pm. It began in Niagara Square in downtown Buffalo. A few hours later, WGRZ says the protests began to escalate. A person, who apparently tried to drive through the protest, was beaten and taken to the hospital. WGRZ says that Mayor Bryon Brown said there have been incidents of looting and vandalism, including windows being broken at Stalter.

More: Officer Who Had His Knee on George Floyd’s Neck is in Custody

Mayor Byron Brown says that those protests eventually escalated, according to WIVB.

“The vast majority of the protesters earlier were peaceful, we expected them to be peaceful. Also, we’re getting intelligence that people were coming from outside this area with nothing but violence on their mind.” Buffalo Mayor, Byron Brown, via WIVB

So many people around the country and in WNY are upset, frustrated, saddened and tired of the deaths of African-Americans at the hands of police officers. The calls for justice in the death of George Floyd, along with the countless other men and women who have been killed, has spilled into the streets.

In Rochester, a similar protest also escalated. A peaceful protest that began around 1 pm Saturday at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park at Manhattan Square, turned more violent, when protesters were tear gassed by police, according to WIVB.

As I have seen other people in other cities say on social media, there are people from outside the city agitating peaceful protests and causing chaos. Mayor Brown says that is happening in Buffalo, as well.

"We cannot let outside agitators come into our community and create violence and chaos and damage our ability to heal from this event, other incidents and to come together in thoughtful constructive dialog to produce real change in Buffalo, Minneapolis, and all across this country." ~Mayor Brown via WGRZ

I am watching WIVB, Channel 4 live, the reporter says that there has been damage to storefronts on Main Street in downtown Buffalo. They also showed a City Bail van that was set on fire. WKBW says that officers sprayed "pepper bullets."