Lang
8-28-20
The Old Capitol and other downtown Iowa City buildings were again the target of Black Lives Matter protestors Friday night, going against a promise made by protest leaders The Iowa Freedom Riders a few weeks ago.
The Iowa Freedom Riders had agreed to self-police members who tried to spray-paint downtown landmarks and businesses, but The Daily Iowan reports that Friday night members created human shields and used umbrellas to block spray painters from public view during a march through downtown and other nearby areas. Graffiti targets included the Johnson County Jail, downtown businesses and the streets themselves before the marchers returned to the Pentacrest, where the protest and march began. That’s where protestors began spray-painting the Old Capitol before police could arrive.
The group had spray-painted the Old Capitol during earlier protests in June. The estimated cost to the University of Iowa for cleanup was over $1 million.
Iowa City Police warned residents Friday afternoon that the Iowa Freedom Riders had planned downtown protests each night Friday through Monday.
Among the topics the Iowa Freedom Riders want addressed are justice for Makeda Scott, an Iowa City woman who drowned in Lake MacBride in June. The group has questioned the accuracy of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office’s account of the drowning.
The group also wants more information on the case of Tremayne Clemons, a Coralville man who allegedly provided the guns used in a deadly Christmas night shooting on Boston Way. The Iowa Freedom Riders want to know why Clemons was held by police for months before being charged.