Phoenix PD declares peaceful protest outside Trump event unlawful assembly


Hundreds of protesters gathered in a free-speech zone outside of the Dream City Church in Phoenix on Tuesday afternoon, demonstrating against President Trump as he spoke to supporters inside.
At about 4:30 p.m., the Phoenix Police Department declared that the peaceful protest was considered an unlawful assembly "due to criminal activity and a current danger to our community," and demonstrators had to leave the area. Police arrived in riot gear and shot projectiles into the crowd, leaving demonstrators confused over the escalation, The Arizona Republic reports.
Khiry Wilson, a leader with the local protest group W.E. Rising Project, told The Arizona Republic organizers had no idea why officers were dispatched in riot gear. Wilson said demonstrators listened when officers told them to back up, but "they kept coming to us closer. The next thing they did was back up so close to us that they pushed a riot shield into one of our nonviolent protesters' face and it was assault from the Phoenix PD. It was assault plain and simple. They shot shotguns in people's ears."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
$300M lawsuit against Greenpeace has environmentalists on edge
In the spotlight The organization says the future of advocacy and free speech is at risk
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suit
Speed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments law
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
Georgia's new foreign influence bill
Under the Radar Critics claim the 'Russian law' could stifle dissent and wreck the country's chances of joining the EU
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence