About 1,500 protesters gathered at the State Capitol Building in Denver on Tuesday evening, according to Colorado State Patrol, before splitting into two marches. One match went towards Stout Street, to the Denver Police Department headquarters and throughout downtown, according to protesters who joined that march.
The other march went down Lincoln Street and then Broadway as protesters in the front of the crowd announced they were headed towards Interstate 25 to disrupt rush-hour traffic. About fifty to sixty Denver police and CSP officers in tactical gear and armed trucks cut them off a block from the on-ramp south of East Exposition Avenue. With a drone, DPD told protesters to turn around or "force will be utilized, including chemical munitions."
Protesters at the intersection were hit with pepper pellets and smoke grenades; although some didn't seem fazed at first, the crowd quickly thinned out. Protesters who remained threw a couple of objects during the standoff, including a stick that smacked the police drone and sent it to the ground; it was stomped to pieces. Several protesters were also wrestled to the ground and arrested during the confrontation near the highway.
According to the DPD, there have been seventeen arrests connected to the protest as of early Wednesday morning, including two for assaulting an officer.
The Denver Party for Socialism and Liberation branch organized the protest, which came together on short notice without a permit as a reaction to images and news coming out of California. Videos from L.A. have shown protesters and rioters throwing rocks at ICE vehicles and burning Waymo cars, as well as police clashing with protesters and hitting journalists with rubber bullets. More than 2,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines are in the City of Angels, despite objections from L.A.'s mayor and the California governor.
"We're immigrants, and we came here peacefully. We didn't come here to provoke problems," said Javier Calzada, a Mexican immigrant at the Denver protest who now has U.S. citizenship. "We feel threatened. What's happening right now in the country is why we're raising our voice, and our government doesn't want us to speak out. That's why Trump is sending troops."
With another protest coming up on Saturday, June 14, that was planned a month ago, protesters walking away from the DPD and CSP officers could be heard wondering whether Tuesday could be a prelude to more violent confrontations over the weekend.
Here are scenes from the Tuesday night protest:
Protesters clashed with Denver police and Colorado State Patrol troopers as they tried to lead a large march onto Interstate 25.
Bennito L. Kelty
Denver Police and Colorado State Patrol troopers began arresting protesters, throwing some to the ground and kneeling on their head. One officer fell down while trying to pull a protester from the crowd.
Bennito L. Kelty
As police were pulling protesters from the crowd and arresting them, one man appeared to pass out during his arrest. Police waited for him to regain consciousness before taking him away.
Bennito L. Kelty
After about fifteen minutes of waiting for protesters to turn around and walk back up Broadway, law enforcement began shooting pepper pellets and throwing smoke grenades at them. Some protesters seemed unfazed, but the crowd quickly shrank after that.
Bennito L. Kelty
One protester stood right in front of officers and filmed them while smoke clouded around her.
Bennito L. Kelty
Protesters and law enforcement faced off near Broadway and East Exposition Avenue. Protesters taunted officers, telling them they're "on the wrong side of history."
Bennito L. Kelty
Protesters walked down Lincoln Street and then Broadway yelling "Chinga la migra" (fuck ICE) and chanting "The people united will never be divided." Cars stuck behind their march honked at them, though it was hard to tell which honks were for support and which were to get protesters to move.
Bennito L. Kelty
People in homes and businesses on Lincoln Street and Broadway watched, filmed and sometimes raised a fist of solidarity to the throng of protesters that passed by them.
Bennito L. Kelty
According to Colorado State Patrol, about 1,500 protesters showed up at the Capitol on Tuesday, June 10. Protesters didn't have a permit to gather at the Capitol, however.
Bennito L. Kelty
