Law enforcement officers arrested on Sept. 24, a Kentucky lawmaker who proposed legislation prohibiting no-knock warrants across the state while protesting in Louisville. The arrests came after the city experienced a second night of chaos, reignited by the indictment of only one officer who was involved in the death of 25-year-old medical worker Breonna Taylor in March.
Democratic Rep. Attica Scott and her daughter Ashanti were arrested alongside 24 others at the First Unitarian Church’s parking lot. Police officers charged both with first-degree rioting—a Class D felony—alongside a failure to disperse and unlawful assembly, on the grounds that Scott’s group smashed the windows of the nearby Louisville Public Library and a flare thrown inside.
Around a thousand Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters took to the streets of Louisville during the daytime Sept. 24. Hundreds were still on the streets by nightfall—way past the 9 p.m.to 6:30 a.m. curfew announced by city officials. Initially encompassing a period of 72 hours, city officials later extended it throughout the weekend. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer has encouraged residents to head home at 8 p.m. each night to comply with the curfew hours.
According to a report by the Louisville Courier-Journal, the mayor clarified that the curfew does not apply to people commuting to work, going to houses of worship or seeking medical attention for themselves or others.
Churches in the area, such as First Unitarian and Calvary Episcopal, opened their doors to protesters who sought sanctuary as the 9 p.m. curfew set in. A church leader seconded the mayor’s clarification, adding that they invited the protesters onto the church grounds to avoid being arrested.
A standoff between members of the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) and protesters occurred—which eventually ended with the arrest of Scott, her daughter, and the 24 other individuals with them over the damage at the public library. LMPD officers then negotiated with protest leaders to allow the rest of the participants to leave peacefully. Soon after 11 p.m., the BLM protesters at First United began to disperse after police informed them that no arrests will be made.
Bills looking to end the use of no-knock warrants
In August, Scott introduced a bill named Breonna’s Law in the Ky. lower house banning the use of no-knock warrants by law enforcement officers in the whole state.
According to a report by local media outlet WDRB 41, Scott’s proposed legislation called for law enforcement to physically knock and verbally announce themselves before executing a search warrant, undergo alcohol and drug tests in case officers shoot and kill someone and turn on their body cameras five minutes before and five minutes after serving a warrant of arrest.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul introduced a similar bill in June – the Justice for Breonna Taylor Act – that banned no-knock warrants nationwide. The senator’s bill required law enforcement officers to “provide notice of their authority and purposes” before executing a warrant, with the order applicable to federal agents and state or local law enforcement agencies funded by the Department of Justice.
Despite the senator’s efforts, however, the same Black Lives Matter mob that Scott was part of threatened Paul, his wife and two other companions as they were walking back to their hotel in Washington, D.C. after the Republican National Convention ended Aug. 27.
The Kentucky senator thanked police officers stationed nearby for their timely intervention during a Fox and Friends interview a day after the attack, adding that their group would have been “kicked in the head or … the stomach until we were senseless” had the mob gotten closer.
Paul also remarked about protesters taunting him to “say her name”, an apparent reference to Breonna Taylor, by saying that “the irony is definitely lost” on them—given that his proposed bill prohibiting no-knock warrants was actually in their favor!
Find out more news about recent Black Lives Matter riots in different cities across the U.S. at Rioting.news.
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