Protests Reach Prince Frederick

The "big" town up the road, and our county seat. From one of the local rags, Black Lives Matter Protests come to SoMD, stay peaceful for the most part, except for the tear gas, the arrests and broken window and in the police car:

In Prince Frederick, MD, organizers were given a permit to protest from 6:00 p.m.- 7:00 p.m. starting in the Prince Frederick Shopping Center, with the March headed towards the Sheriff’s Office and then back to the shopping center. Our reporter at the scene, Tammy Showalter, described the scene as fairly calm.

This changed as protesters gathered within the roadway several hundred feet before the shopping center. Up until this point the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office(CCSO) had been marching with the group. The group organizers attempted to keep the group peaceful, as their permit time was ending soon. As the Sheriff’s Office, spearheaded by Sheriff Mike Evens in the front, attempted to get the crowd to move to the sidewalks and head back to their starting location, several individuals began shouting.

CCSO officers began showing up, putting on gas masks, and riot gear. The Maryland State Police-Prince Frederick Barracks arrived shortly thereafter. The organizers implored the protestors to remain calm, move to the sidewalks, and head back to their cars. At one point the protestors did move back to the sidewalk, as CCSO launched 1-2 canisters of tear gas. Then the crowd moved back into the road, with dozens just heading straight to their vehicles. The CCSO officers formed a line and began moving down the road in formation, slowly pushing the crowd back towards the shopping center.

The crowd arrived back at the shopping center where a group of several individuals began challenging the officers. Shouting profanities at them, several water bottles thrown, and the back of an unmarked Police SUV window broken out. Tear gas was deployed at least 2 more times, and the majority of the crowd was gone. At least 10 individuals stood challenging the officers, including screaming at the officers on why they had automatic weapons against unarmed people. Several individuals were handcuffed as the officers stood in formation, several left running, presumably to handle unruly individuals. The group that remained there was still being asked to leave after 8 p.m.

Clearly, we're no longer worried about "social distancing"