Four people were charged with rioting after windows were broken and property was defaced in several neighborhoods late Tuesday and early Wednesday in Richmond, causing the shutdown of the John Marshall courthouse downtown.
Mayor Levar Stoney and Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin both noted that all of Wednesday’s court cases were delayed at the John Marshall Courts Building, including a sentencing hearing for a man convicted of the second-degree murder of Markiya Dickson, the 9-year-old killed while playing in Carter Jones Park last year.
“We can’t go about bringing justice to her because of your selfishness,” Stoney said at a regularly scheduled coronavirus news conference Wednesday afternoon, referring to those responsible for breaking 22 windows at the courts building.
Damage from overnight could cost Richmond hundreds of thousands of dollars from city coffers, Stoney said.
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“These dollars that could be going to help lives here in the city of Richmond are now going to fixing windows,” he said. “So it is in conflict with what these people say they are standing for.”
He added: “It will not be tolerated and you will be charged with all applicable charges.”
Earlier, the police said that they had detained several individuals about 11:50 p.m. Tuesday and that they charged the four people after consulting with the commonwealth’s attorney’s office. The authorities also said that a metal crowbar and a hammer “were seized from the individuals.”
Among properties damaged as protesters marched through parts of the city were the SunTrust Center and the Bank of America Center on East Main Street downtown, and the James Center in Shockoe Slip.
Graffiti was spray-painted on the memorial clock at Two James Center along with the phrase “Eat the Rich” on the sidewalk nearby. There also was damage at the Starbucks at the Omni Richmond.
Stoney commented on Twitter on Wednesday morning about the damage.
“The vandalism of our courts building and downtown businesses last night was unacceptable and misguided,” the mayor said. “Those working peacefully for change are welcome here. Those intent on creating chaos and confrontation, who riot and commit violence against our community, will go to jail. Period.”
At the afternoon news conference, Stoney repeated that the property damage was unacceptable, dropping a fist down on the lectern for emphasis.
“It’s wrong and it undermines any sort of mission behind the cause of Black Lives Matter,” he said. “Last night was not about a cause. That was about violence. That was about paralysis. People want to paralyze the city of Richmond.”
“When I say Black lives matter, I’m saying we should love Black lives as much as folks love white lives,” Stoney continued.
He added that Richmond police will proceed with investigations and will be making more arrests. Deputy Chief Sydney Collier said Wednesday at the news conference that the police are responding as quickly as they can to the “destruction and violence that’s happening” but that the people out there “want to destroy this city.”
At the John Marshall Courts Building, windows at the building’s entrance and along Eighth Street, where offices for the Richmond commonwealth’s attorney are located, were shattered.
McEachin, the city’s top prosecutor, said no one entered the building Tuesday night as the vandalism unfolded.
“Talk about justice delayed,” McEachin said on the steps of the courthouse Wednesday morning. “Markiya Dickson’s parents aren’t getting justice today. Anyone seeking eviction assistance from the Legal Aid attorney on the second floor isn’t getting the help they need today.”
McEachin said it’s rare for the entire courthouse to close, but she’s had to close her office three days during the ongoing demonstrations that began May 29.
The General District Court, which operates out of the second floor, had just reopened after a brief closure due to a possible COVID-19 exposure.
The John Marshall Courts Building will be closed again Thursday while repairs are being made, city officials said.