Protesters marched in Washington on Friday night. CNN
A large crowd of peaceful protesters in Washington, DC, is heading to Lafayette Park near the White House.
CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt said the protesters “finished this week how they started, by protesting peacefully.”
Sitting on about 250 yoga mats donated by a social work advocacy group, they sang “Happy Birthday” to Breonna Taylor, who was killed by police in March and who will be 27 years old today.
A new road sign has also been erected at the intersection of 16 and 8 that read “Black Lives Matter Plaza.”
“This is where a fierce crackdown occurred on protesters Monday night who protested peacefully before the President gave a speech at Rose Garden, when he declared himself president of ‘law and order’,” Marquardt said.
What is clearly absent is the presence of law enforcement. But city officials expect a bigger demonstration on Saturday.
“These protesters have been here all week by hundreds, by thousands, gathered here in Lafayette Park by the White House, and behind that fence, which has been reinforced this week, there is almost no law enforcement that we can see, “said Marquardt.
“This is the least amount of law enforcement I have witnessed throughout the week and that talks about how peaceful these protests are. There is no curfew in the city of Washington tonight. But now city officials say they expect massive demonstrations tomorrow. The biggest which they think they will anticipate since they started in the city of Washington. “
