Lang
6/13/20
Iowa City’s nightly protesters have a new strategy: target Iowa City city council members in their homes.
For the second night in a row the group Iowa Freedom Riders led protesters from the Pentacrest to a councilor’s residence. Saturday it was councilor John Thomas, who lives on Brown Street near its corner with North Van Buren Street. Thomas joined protesters outside his house, even joining in on a “Black Lives Matter” chant on a megaphone.
Friday night the protest moved from the Pentacrest to the Denbigh Drive residence of Mayor Bruce Teague. Teague stood at the end of his driveway during the protest, telling demonstrators he heard their concerns.
The Iowa Freedom Riders have been negotiating with Teague and the city council on a list of demands presented to the council last Tuesday. The group’s leaders say the city has not been fast enough in enacting the measures.
The Iowa City city council plans to address some of the group’s demands at this Tuesday’s meeting.