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PHOTOS: After George Floyd’s Death, A Day of Pain and Protest Turns Violent in Charlotte

Protesters face Charlotte police after George Floyd's killing in May 2020. (Photo by Grant Baldwin for Cardinal & Pine)

By Billy Ball, Grant Baldwin

June 1, 2020

As police clashed with demonstrators in Charlotte, Cardinal & Pine contributor Grant Baldwin captured it all.

After a night of unrest in North Carolina’s cities, Gov. Roy Cooper declared Sunday that: “People are more important than property, and Black lives do matter.”

But the events that preceded that, marred with uncertainty about how and why peaceful demonstrations turned violent in the evening hours, were remarkably consistent in and outside the state.

Cardinal & Pine contributor Grant Baldwin documented the scene in North Carolina’s largest city in Charlotte, where a day of peaceful demonstrations gave way to a turbulent evening.

RELATED: Gov. Roy Cooper: ‘Black Lives Do Matter.’

Baldwin talked about tension on both sides, and the mostly white and occasionally masked demonstrators who broke windows and started fights. At one point, Baldwin said a crowd of white demonstrators began firing guns in the air, prompting a swift response from police.

See below for Baldwin’s photo essay of a shocking day in North Carolina.

PHOTOS: After George Floyd's Death, A Day of Pain and Protest Turns Violent in Charlotte
Charlotte’s Mayor Vi Lyles, joined by city council members, talks to press and addressed members of the NC African American Caucus. Lyles asked that they work in their communities to help teach tolerance and equality, as well as to announce that the city had declared a state of emergency. (Photo by Grant Baldwin).
PHOTOS: After George Floyd's Death, A Day of Pain and Protest Turns Violent in Charlotte
City Councilman Braxton Winston (right) makes his first public appearance after being arrested the previous night during demonstrations on Beatties Ford Road in Charlotte. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)
PHOTOS: After George Floyd's Death, A Day of Pain and Protest Turns Violent in Charlotte
After marching from Charlotte police headquarters to Romare Bearden Park, protesters paused to let members speak about the Minnesota police killing of George Floyd before continuing their march through uptown. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)
PHOTOS: After George Floyd's Death, A Day of Pain and Protest Turns Violent in Charlotte
A protester kneels in the street before continuing with those marching through uptown Saturday in Charlotte. (Photo for Cardinal & Pine by Grant Baldwin).
PHOTOS: After George Floyd's Death, A Day of Pain and Protest Turns Violent in Charlotte
Protesters stopped temporarily at the Mecklenburg County Jail before continuing their march through uptown. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)
PHOTOS: After George Floyd's Death, A Day of Pain and Protest Turns Violent in Charlotte
Shortly after blocking I-277 near uptown, protesters speak to reporters. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)
PHOTOS: After George Floyd's Death, A Day of Pain and Protest Turns Violent in Charlotte
After marching for the previous eight hours, protesters gathered in front of Charlotte police headquarters. Their numbers grew significantly before the protests turned violent. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)
PHOTOS: After George Floyd's Death, A Day of Pain and Protest Turns Violent in Charlotte
The first arrest of the evening, CMPD officers remove a woman from the crowd as protesters push in. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)
PHOTOS: After George Floyd's Death, A Day of Pain and Protest Turns Violent in Charlotte
Protesters stand in the back of a vehicle after an arrest was made and tear gas and pepper balls were deployed against those gathered. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)
PHOTOS: After George Floyd's Death, A Day of Pain and Protest Turns Violent in Charlotte
Protesters confront CMPD officers after an arrest was made and tear gas and pepper balls were deployed against those gathered. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)
PHOTOS: After George Floyd's Death, A Day of Pain and Protest Turns Violent in Charlotte
Protesters attempt to assist a woman who’d inhaled tear gas. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)
PHOTOS: After George Floyd's Death, A Day of Pain and Protest Turns Violent in Charlotte
A protester turns an American Flag in front of the Federal Reserve upside down, a universal symbol of a country in distress. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)
PHOTOS: After George Floyd's Death, A Day of Pain and Protest Turns Violent in Charlotte
Protesters confront CMPD officers after an arrest was made and tear gas and pepper balls were deployed against those gathered. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)
PHOTOS: After George Floyd's Death, A Day of Pain and Protest Turns Violent in Charlotte
In a show of defiance, protesters turn their backs and kneel in front of a line of CMPD officers. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)
PHOTOS: After George Floyd's Death, A Day of Pain and Protest Turns Violent in Charlotte
In a show of defiance, protesters turn their backs and kneel in front of a line of CMPD officers. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)
PHOTOS: After George Floyd's Death, A Day of Pain and Protest Turns Violent in Charlotte
In a show of defiance, protesters turns their backs and put their hands behind their heads in front of a line of CMPD officers. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)
PHOTOS: After George Floyd's Death, A Day of Pain and Protest Turns Violent in Charlotte
A protester attempts to assist a fellow protester after tear gas flooded the crowd. (Photo by Grant Baldwin)

Authors

  • Billy Ball

    Billy Ball is Cardinal & Pine's senior community editor. He’s covered local, state and national politics, government, education, criminal justice, the environment and immigration in North Carolina for almost two decades, winning state, regional and national awards for his reporting and commentary.

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  • Grant Baldwin

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