Demonstrators gathered in Rochester, New York, Friday for another night of protests, proudly declaring that they “shut shit down” and reportedly segregating demonstrators by race.
For over a week, activists have taken to the streets of Rochester to protest the police-involved death of Daniel Prude, a black man who police restrained after he ran naked in the streets in March. He ultimately died of asphyxiation.
On Friday night, protesters chanted that they “shut shit down” and reportedly segregated activists by race, according to the Blaze host and reporter Elijah Schaffer:
One demonstrator compared their movement to the Biblical story of David and Goliath.
“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty,” she said, quoting David in 1 Samuel 17:45.
“I say they came against us with tear gas … but we come against them in the name of justice,” she continued, replacing “Almighty God” with “freedom” and “black liberation” as well:
Demonstrators in Rochester also followed their Black Lives Matter counterparts nationwide in calling for defunding the police.
“So we know that the school district is taking a 20 percent cut every single year, for the next five years,” organizer Ashley Gantt said, according to WHEC.
“They’re already in an $87-89 million deficit. And a 20 percent cut over the next five years. Meanwhile, we’re giving police officers $140 million to terrorize our community is absolutely ridiculous,” she added.