Weary of protest, Baltimore activists seek change elsewhere

WTOP News (Washington DC) ^ | July 23, 2016 3:35 pm | JULIET LINDERMAN

[COBOL2Java]

In this June 9, 2016 file photo, Arthur B. Johnson Jr., of Baltimore, demonstrates alone outside Baltimore's Courthouse East on the first day of the trial of Officer Caesar Goodson, one of six Baltimore city police officers charged in connection to the death of Freddie Gray, in Baltimore. More than a year after Freddie Gray's death, the same streets that exploded in fury and flame are calm. Despite back-to-back acquittals for officers charged in Gray's death, the physical protest movement that helped topple the careers of both the police commissioner and the mayor has dissipated, leaving activists exploring other avenues for change.

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BALTIMORE (AP) — Under the beating summer sun, retired steelworker Arthur B. Johnson Jr. stood outside the Clarence Mitchell Courthouse in Baltimore, clutching the fraying wooden handle of a homemade sign.

“Justice for Freddie Gray,” it read. Inside, a fourth officer was about to be cleared of criminal charges in Gray’s death last April, a week after Gray’s neck was broken while he was handcuffed and shackled but left unrestrained in the back of a police van. Johnson has shown up for every trial, in pouring rain and sweltering heat.

Thousands took to the streets last spring. The refrain of “No justice, no peace” rang through corridors on the city’s east and west sides for more than a week; after a riot broke out, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake instituted a 10 p.m. curfew. The National Guard rolled into town to restore order.

But these days, Johnson and his sign typically stand alone.

The most recent acquittal, for Lt. Brian Rice, the highest-ranking officer charged in Gray’s death, was rapidly preceded by two others, including Officer Caesar Goodson, who drove the wagon in which Gray’s spine was snapped.

[goldstategop]

BLM terrorists are not talking justice.

They’re talking about killing cops.

Their rhetoric has gotten out of hand.

Freddie Grey committed a crime and that’s why he was transported to jail.

End of story.

[harwood]

Ain’t nothin’ round here worth burnin’ down

[max americana]

You mean PAID activists.

[COBOL2Java]

You mean PAID activists.

True. Mr. Soros is investing his money elsewhere at the moment.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Yes, I could not help but notice how there has been a big yawn here about the trials.

Just goes to prove the demographic is all about whipping into rage and just destructing and plundering. No real reason now. All played out.

[grania]

BLM is a totally racist organization. What they are advocating is that blacks cannot live by the rule of law. They only alternatives to the rule of law are chaos or slavery.

[libertylover]

Officer Goodson did it in the police van with the accelerator pedal. Absurd.

[Lent]

Oh well off to the next bogus police incident. They’ll get inspired at the Demofascist Convention with the magical appearance of the ‘Gentle Giant’ and the perpetual child Trayvon Martin.

[TYVets]

The Rent a Riot paycheck bounced?

[vette6387]

“Just goes to prove the demographic is all about whipping into rage and just destructing and plundering. No real reason now. All played out.”

I think in ths case it’s about creating a means by which this little Black Marxist $hitbag of a State Attorney can figure out how to exit the mess she’s made with her miserable a$$ in tact.

[fella]

"True. Mr. Soros is investing his money elsewhere at the moment."

Philadelphia?

[RKBA Democrat]

Yeah. Protesting is actually work. Not surprised.

(Never understood why our side doesn’t protest more. It’s good, healthy outdoor work.)

[Molon Labbie]

Demoralized because they couldn’t get cops prosecuted on a hoax perpetuated by the DA and mayor.

However, the will regroup and burn something else down.

[stilloftyhenight]

LOL Plus, it’s hot outside! Can’t be rioting in the heat!

[11th_VA]

They’re all out playin Pokemon Go ...