79 arrested after march to Arkansas Governor's Mansion

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — Authorities arrested 79 people Tuesday night who marched to the Arkansas Governor's Mansion as part of protests in downtown Little Rock against police brutality and racial injustice.

Those arrested were part of a group of several hundred who first gathered at the Arkansas State Capitol. The group marched to the governor's mansion and kneeled in front of state police troopers outside the gates.

The march happened after the city's 8 p.m. curfew. State Police Col. Bill Bryant said in a news conference Wednesday that troopers did not make arrests at the governor's mansion because the group was peaceful.

“As long as it remained peaceful, we were there to protect them,” he said.

The group then marched to the Pulaski County Courthouse, where it splintered into smaller groups and authorities confronted them. Bryant said authorities made arrests after someone threw a water bottle at a police vehicle and someone threw a stone through the window of a McDonald’s restaurant. He said the act of vandalism was the “triggering event” that led to arrests.

Tuesday was the fourth night of protests in the city. The demonstrations, sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, have been mostly peaceful, with participants calling for criminal justice reform and sharing personal stories of discrimination and mistreatment. But the gatherings have turned chaotic after dark. Small groups have broken windows, spray-painted buildings and set small fires.

The protest Tuesday was the first that did not end with authorities deploying tear gas and other projectiles to break up the gathering. On Sunday, authorities fired projectiles at kneeling protesters from close range. Bryant said some people at the protests have thrown rocks and other objects at authorities.

“We were met with violence,” he said. “Believe me, we’d rather have compliance.”

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said at the news conference that protests across the state have been "extraordinarily peaceful.” But he again warned that authorities will not tolerate destruction and violence.

Bryant said authorities seized two handguns after the protests Tuesday night. He said authorities have found homemade weapons after other protests, including a bottle filled with alcohol that could have been used as a firebomb. He said they have also discovered caches of bricks around the State Capitol.

Hutchinson said there were nine law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and DEA, monitoring the protest Tuesday night as part of a unified command. The command was established as part of a state of emergency declaration. It orders state police to lead the command and to assume control in jurisdictions that "it deems necessary to protect civil rights and ensure public safety."

Little Rock Police Chief Keith Humphrey said in a separate news conference that the command system has “worked extremely well for us.” He said it has allowed the department to continue responding to calls not related to the protests.

"If not for the assistance of the other departments, we would be stretched thin,” he said.

Humphrey and Bryant both said that authorities had received information that outside groups were infiltrating the protests and working to sow disorder, but they did not provide evidence. Humphrey said that U.S. District Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas Cody Hiland, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, had provided information that the far-left collective known as antifa, which means “anti-fascist,” had infiltrated protests in Arkansas.

There have been fake rumors about antifa activity in multiple regions, including central Arkansas, spreading on social media A white nationalist group aiming to create conflict was behind at least one of the posts, according to reports.

Hupmhrey said a lot of the information on social media “may not be accurate,” but authorities still have to take it seriously.

Hutchinson said no one from outside the state has been arrested during the protests in central Arkansas, but that did not mean there weren’t groups working to instigate violence.

“When they’re from out of state, somehow they have a means of getting others arrested and not themselves,” he said.

Some who were not arrested on Tuesday night were detained by authorities, including two KATV reporters and an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter. The KATV reporters were detained after repeatedly identifying themselves as members of the press and showing their credentials. They were released after about 10 minutes.

Hutchinson on Wednesday said that journalists have a “very important” job to do and authorities should respect that.

“They should not be arrested, but they have to be identified,” he said. “And when they’re identified as a journalist, obviously, they should go about their business.”