A protest against police brutality in downtown Columbus turned violent on Thursday night. Protestors broke windows at the Ohio Statehouse and nearby businesses after a clash with Columbus Police officers.
Around 400 people gathered at Broad and High streets to demonstrate over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
Gov. Mike DeWine has scheduled a press conference for 2:30 p.m. to "discuss the events yesterday and this morning at the Ohio Statehouse and downtown Columbus." Stream the event below, courtesy of The Ohio Channel.
Around 9:45 p.m. Thursday, media outlets reported that some people clashed with Columbus Police and started hurling water bottles, trash cans and other items at the officers. The officers responded by using pepper spray on some of the protestors.
Part of the crowd was forced back, and then several demonstrators broke windows at the Statehouse, the Ohio Theatre and at some nearby businesses.
27 windows damaged at the @OhioStatehouse after a George Floyd protest that went on for hours in downtown Columbus pic.twitter.com/PGzeOF0r6v
— Karen Kasler (@karenkasler) May 29, 2020
Police arrested several of the protestors.
Mayor Andrew Ginther tweeted for protesters to remain peaceful.
I respect peaceful protests and ask residents to remain peaceful in their actions tonight and every night.
— Mayor Andrew Ginther (@MayorGinther) May 29, 2020
In an emailed statement, the Franklin County Commissioners said, "Peaceful protest has a long and important history in our country, and we will not condemn it. We do call on both the protesters and the police to exercise restraint. The safety of all of our community members must be our highest priority. Addressing the systemic inequities that have led us to this point must be our ultimate objective."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
