This afternoon, starting a little before 2:00 p.m. in downtown Warrensburg, Missouri.

“Black Lives Matter”

Warrensburg Police had a relaxed presence with officers at the south end of the demonstration at the intersection of Holden and Pine and officers at the north end of the demonstration on Holden Street. On occasion police vehicles would drive by.

A conversation.

“Black Lives Matter”

A good p0rtion of the crowd wore masks. Some wore gloves. Social distancing was haphazard.

“No justice, no peace”

“End Police Brutality”

“White silence is compliance”

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about what matters”

“Black Lives Matter”

“Justice”

“United Against Racism”

“Justice for George Floyd”

“No justice, no peace”

“I can’t breathe”

“Justice for George Floyd”

One individual, who had been praying on the sidewalk, took to Holden Street. Someone from the crowd held traffic while he prayed.

Praying in the street.

“Black Lives Matter”

“Cop are not above the law”

“Black Lives Matter”

“Black Live Matter” “End Police Brutality”

Writing his name – George Floyd.

This was one of the largest crowds I’ve seen at a demonstration in Warrensburg in a long time. The group was much younger than usual, with a good representation of the older, experienced crowd – the usual suspects.

According to social media posts, after we left the demonstration, the crowd marched to the University and quite a distance around Warrensburg. One social media post estimated the crowd to number between 150 and 200.

Previously:

George Floyd – Protest – Kansas City, Missouri – May 29, 2020 (May 29, 2020)

Uh oh (May 30, 2020)

Why is anyone surprised? (May 31, 2020)

Joe Biden (D) [2020 file photo].

From Joe Biden (D), last night:

We are a nation furious at injustice.

These last few days have laid bare that we are a nation furious at injustice. Every person of conscience can understand the rawness of the trauma people of color experience in this country, from the daily indignities to the extreme violence, like the horrific killing of George Floyd.

Protesting such brutality is right and necessary. It’s an utterly American response. But burning down communities and needless destruction is not. Violence that endangers lives is not. Violence that guts and shutters businesses that serve the community is not.

The act of protesting should never be allowed to overshadow the reason we protest. It should not drive people away from the just cause that protest is meant to advance.

I know that there are people all across this country who are suffering tonight. Suffering the loss of a loved one to intolerable circumstances, like the Floyd family, or to the virus that is still gripping our nation. Suffering economic hardships, whether due to COVID-19 or entrenched inequalities in our system. And I know that a grief that dark and deep may at times feel too heavy to bear.

I know.

And I also know that the only way to bear it is to turn all that anguish to purpose. So tonight, I ask all of America to join me — not in denying our pain or covering it over — but using it to compel our nation across this turbulent threshold into the next phase of progress, inclusion, and opportunity for our great democracy.

We are a nation in pain, but we must not allow this pain to destroy us. We are a nation enraged, but we cannot allow our rage to consume us. We are a nation exhausted, but we will not allow our exhaustion to defeat us.

As President, I will help lead this conversation — and more importantly, I will listen. I will keep the commitment I made to George’s brother, Philonise, that George will not just be a hashtag. We must and will get to a place where everyone, regardless of race, believes that “to protect and serve” means to protect and serve them. Only by standing together will we rise stronger than before. More equal, more just, more hopeful — and that much closer to our more perfect union.

Please stay safe. Please take care of each other.

Presidential.