Daily 2020 Sucks Megathread

As people are waking up, I want to share a little bit of what I was able to gather from social media last night regarding the protests and curfew. While I was not out to witness things first hand, the videos I am seeing on twitter are terrifying.

Things were bad. Real bad.

Cops were out in force. Videos showed them marching fully armed with automatic weapons, armored vehicles, and even tanks. They made dozens of arrests. This number should go up as we get more info. People are being detained without access to lawyers. As of around 4 AM, multiple lawyers have tried calling the magistrate and city jail but obtained no response. This is unconstitutional and against due process. Hopefully due diligence will be carried out, but somehow I have my doubts.

There are videos of police spraying pepper spray at people in their own homes. They fired tear gas and rubber bullets and were aggressive to multiple reporters, asking them to leave. It looks like reporters were not able to stay on the streets and film first hand due to this aggression. So please, if you want info, don't rely on just the media. Look at the videos on twitter. Look at the reality of what is happening.

Twitter videos show people being beat, pulled out of their cars, and pure excessive force. Many of these people were probably genuinely going home from work.

Not sure if there was any significant rioting or property damages. Looks like the police completely shut things down. Apparently there were helicopters deployed and SWAT agents hiding in alleys waiting to arrest and rough up people. I won't be surprised to see a significant number of deaths across the country. And I won't be surprised if they targeted POC like we always see.

People, please call your representatives, mayors, everyone you can. This kind of behavior from police can not be tolerated. It is only making things escalate more and more. Tell them we need action, not words.

We need emergency bills calling for concrete actions like body cameras, justice against police, and bail reform. Pressure your congressmen. This is a nationwide crisis and I do not see this blowing over (protests ending) until real change is implemented. I am worried for the people of this good city and this nation. For the time being, please don't go out during curfew. You will accomplish nothing. These cops will mess up your life.

I am shocked and horrified by what happened last night. Please stay safe so we can come back to our families and continue the good fight. We will get through this together. Peace.

/r/rva Thread