A large crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters accosted white diners outside several restaurants in Washington DC, demanding that they raise their fists to show solidarity with the movement.
On Wednesday, Washington Post reporter, Frederick Kunkle, shared a video on Twitter. The video shows a large group of protestors crowd around a woman sitting outside a restaurant in Adams Morgan, shouting: "No justice, no peace" and "White silence is violence!"
Kunkle wrote the confrontation stemmed from a Black Lives Matter protest that began in Columbia Heights. He further added that the protesters demanded white diners show their solidarity by raising their fists.
According to a report by Washington Post, the Black Lives Matter rally, which began around 6:30 p.m. on Monday at Columbia Heights Civic Plaza on 14th Street NW, saw participation of hundreds of people.
Lauren B. Victor, the urban planner at whom the shouts were directed, told the Washington Post she wasn't afraid when it happened, just uncomfortable with the mob mentality. She said she "felt like I was under attack for reportedly refusing to raise fist in solidarity”. Kunkle added that the woman told him "there was something wrong about being coerced to show support".
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers declared State of Emergency, after unrest following the shooting of Jacob Blake by police. Evers said he would authorize an increase in the Wisconsin National Guard's presence to 250, reads a statement released by his office.
Calling for peaceful protest, the statement said: "The ability to exercise First Amendment rights is a critically important part of our democracy and the pursuit of justice. But there remains a line between peaceful assembly and what we saw last night that put individuals, families, and businesses in danger."
Jacob Blake, the Black man was shot multiple times by police in Wisconsin, is paralysed, and it would "take a miracle" for him to walk again, his family's attorney said Tuesday, while calling for the officer who opened fire to be arrested and others involved be sacked.
The shooting of Blake on Sunday in Kenosha – allegedly in the presence of his children -- was captured on a cellphone. The incident ignited new protests over racial injustice in several cities, some of which have devolved into unrest. The incident comes just three months after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Floyd’s death had sparked the Black Lives Matter Movement, which soon became a global campaign.