(Headline USA) Scores of police supporters gathered Sunday in downtown Kenosha where protesters have demonstrated against alleged police brutality since the shooting of Jacob Blake last weekend.
Some attending the rally in the Wisconsin city wore “back the blue” shirts. Others carried American flags. They applauded when law enforcement vehicles rolled by.
“With the things that they face on a daily basis, they need that little extra push of love and to show that they are needed,” said Jennifer Peyton, 44, who attended the rally. “I mean, if you went in to work every day, and you were told that you were bad or had things thrown at you, I think it would weigh on your psyche a little bit, too.”
A Kenosha police officer shot Blake after he resisted arrest and reached for a knife in his vehicle on Aug. 23, leaving the 29-year-old black man paralyzed.
Protesters have marched in Kenosha every night since Blake’s shooting, with some turning into riots that damaged buildings and vehicles. Authorities say a teenager from northern Illinois shot and killed two protesters in Kenosha on Tuesday night — possibly in self defense.
A 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. state of emergency curfew that was set to expire Sunday has been extended through 7 a.m. Wednesday, the Kenosha County sheriff’s office said.
Blake’s shooting sparked renewed protests against alleged racial injustice several months after George Floyd’s May 25 death, after he resisted arrest in a confrontation with police.
Some people at Sunday’s pro-police rally signed petitions urging the recall of Gov. Tony Evers and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, both Democrats, and added messages of support on handwritten posters thanking police as heroes.
About 1,000 people attended a rally to protest police violence Saturday.
The city’s mayor, John Antaramian, said Sunday that he will ask the state for $30 million to rebuild parts of Kenosha destroyed or damaged by the violence, according to the Kenosha News.
President Donald Trump has spoken out against the summer-long protests. He is expected to visit Kenosha on Tuesday to meet with law enforcement and survey damage from the demonstrations.
Evers wrote to Trump on Sunday, urging the president to reconsider his plans to visit Kenosha.
“I, along with other community leaders who have reached out, are concerned about what your presence will mean for Kenosha and our state. I am concerned your presence will only hinder our healing. I am concerned your presence will only delay our work to overcome division and move forward together,” Evers wrote.
Barnes indicated that Trump may not be welcome.
“I don’t know how, given any of the previous statements that the president made, that he intends to come here to be helpful and we absolutely don’t need that right now,” Barnes told CNN on Sunday.
Crump said the Blake family “has not been contacted at this time” by Trump.
Adapted from reporting by Associated Press.
