'It made me proud to be a Rhode Islander,' Raimondo says of 'peaceful' protest

PROVIDENCE, RI (WJAR) — Rhode Island’s governor is praising more than 1,000 people who participated in a protest in Providence that was held in response to the death of a 46-year-old black man named George Floyd.

“I want to commend them for that fact that nearly all of them had on masks, were social distanced and very peaceful,” Gov. Gina Raimondo said Monday during her daily coronavirus press briefing.

“It made me proud to be a Rhode Islander to see that,” she added.

Protesters hit the streets on Saturday, marching from Burnside Park to the Rhode Island State House.

While there wasn’t the destruction seen in other cities during recent days, some of the steps of the state house were vandalized with spray paint.

The governor acknowledged that a lot of people’s frustration and anger has only been made worse by the coronavirus crisis.

Still, she said she is concerned about the potential for an outbreak as the result of the large protest.

“I’d be crazy not to be worried about it,” Raimondo said.

Currently, Raimondo has told the public to minimize contact with others and staying in groups no larger than five.

While she has been calling for other large events to be cancelled, and socializing crowds to be dispersed, NBC 10’s Brian Crandall asked Raimondo to clarify her policy in the wake of the protest.

“Does this change your thinking, or what do you say to people who see that and say, ‘OK, how come we can’t have some other large gatherings, especially later on in the summer if we’re wearing masks and socially distant, and one’s OK and one’s not?’” Crandall said to the governor.

Raimondo answered, “Let me say this, all large group gatherings are a problem as it relates to virus containment. That is a scientific fact.”

But she said she's not planning to crack down on protesters.

“A strategy of having a heavy-handed approach to peaceful protest I don’t think is a good strategy. But maybe we offer testing,” Raimondo said.

Moving forward, she requested that anyone who participates in a protest of any kind in Rhode Island to adhere to her current guidelines.

“Your first amendment right to peacefully protest is core to our American democracy,” Raimondo said.

“Yes, you have a right to protest, but I’m asking you to do it following the socially distance rules because if you don’t, you’re putting the health and safety of all the people of Rhode Island at risk,” she said.

Meanwhile, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death. Floyd was being detained over the alleged use of a fake $20 bill.

(NBC 10's Brian Crandall and Jessica A. Botelho contributed to this report.)