KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) – Protesters converged on the county courthouse, defying a Monday curfew and throwing objects at police, marking a second night of clashes after the police shooting of a Black man turned Kenosha into the nation’s latest flashpoint city in a summer of racial unrest.
Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers activated 125 members of the National Guard to assist local law enforcement. Exit ramps off Interstate 94 from the Illinois state line into Kenosha County were closed Monday night, blocked off by police vehicles and trucks in some places.
Protesters chanted, “No justice, no peace” minutes before the 8 p.m. curfew. Some confronted members of law enforcement who wore protective gear and stood shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the courthouse entrance.
Protesters shouted at the officers, and one woman walked by blowing smoke in their faces. Others threw water bottles and other objects at police.
The latest confrontation came after protesters set cars on fire, smashed windows and clashed with officers in riot gear Sunday night over the wounding of 29-year-old Jacob Blake, who was hospitalized in serious condition. In a widely seen cellphone video made by an onlooker, Blake was shot, apparently in the back, as he leaned into his SUV while his three children sat in the vehicle.