GREENSBORO, N.C. — Eleven people have been arrested in Greensboro during the demonstrations. Six of them were arrested Tuesday on charges of having weapons at a parade.
Greensboro police said several other people have brought guns to the demonstration too. Normally, the officers tell them they can't have the weapon, take down their names and information, and release them. But investigators said when an officer approached the six men on Tuesday, they took off running, and that's why they were arrested. Five out of six of them are from Guilford County. The other is from Pitt County, near Greenville. One of them has a felony record for robbery.
Police can't say why the men brought weapons to the rally. But a video from hours before the arrest on the Facebook page of Kacy Foster, one of the men arrested, purports him saying this:
"They say we can't be peaceful when protesting. That we can't protest without looting and rioting, but we showing them right now that we can."
Monday night, four more people were arrested for violating curfew. 33-year-old Victor Barrios from Greensboro is facing additional charges. Police believe he had flammable liquids that he intended to use to cause damage.
And last weekend, one counter-protestor was arrested. A Facebook video from the day of the protest shows him as part of a group criticizing demonstrators for saying Black Lives Matter but not sticking up for unborn fetuses that are being aborted. The Facebook page also claims he is accused of "throwing stuff" off a parking garage.
Police say a team of investigators is also reviewing video of looting and looking for those suspects.
The bottom line is that out of all the crowds coming out, only 11 people have been arrested. That's a tiny fraction of people that have become a huge part of the conversation about the demonstrations.