The agency said descriptions of arrests and interrogations told by defense attorneys and protesters were “riddled with inaccuracies or completely false.” No further specifics were given by Friday afternoon when asked about falsehoods. “The state is out there saying if you participate in these types of protests, we are going to come after you.”. Two days of unruly protests at the Texas Capitol in May left graffiti on the historic building and cuts and bruises on state police officers. They couldn’t have visitors or make phone calls. Those arrested were charged with inciting a riot. “Some folk get those damn doors off with toothpaste powder and dental floss,” Another arrest warrant had been issued, this time on suspicion of a misdemeanor offense of participating in a riot during the May 30 protest. The shootings intensified criticism of Austin police, and the rising community backlash eventually prompted the Austin City Council last week to cut its police budget, largely through plans to move some departments out from under law enforcement oversight. FILE - Pro-Trump protesters storm the U.S. Capitol to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. But also blame it on the isolation of 2020. A spokesperson for Abbott did not respond to Tribune questions about the ensuing DPS investigation this week. But sometimes they get violent, with guards or with each other. A window at police headquarters was also broken, according to the Associated Press. Prisoners were increasingly upset about the coronavirus pandemic. “It is only because of our DPS force ... that came to the aid and rescue of the brave officers at APD that Austin didn’t turn into a potential Seattle or Portland,” Lt. Gov. Greg Abbott has declared a state of disaster due to the violence in cities around the state protesting the death of George Floyd.. Abbott, a Republican, issued the measure in response to "threats and incidents of violence in several cities across Texas that have endangered public safety." Show us with your support. A lot of things fueled the July 18 riot at the Dolph Briscoe Unit in southwest Texas. Cassidy Nordstrom said she was jailed for two days after being arrested on Interstate 35 in May, near the Capitol protest, but police didn’t file paperwork so she was released. Caused by. At Briscoe and many other prisons across Texas, prisoners can let themselves out of their cells whenever they want, sometimes using tools as simple as a shoelace and a bar of soap. “They’re looking for anyone who they can construe as an enemy of the state,” said the 26 year old, who specified every protest she’s been to has been peaceful on the part of the protesters. Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas’ second congressional district said on June 29 on Fox & Friends that the Wuhan coronavirus spike in his state is coming from Black Lives Matter demonstrators, and not from the phased reopening plan as some liberal news outlets are suggesting. But one thing helped make the chaos possible: lame locks. Last night, ... Texas 75201. The information he is imparting is secondhand. Patrick specifically praised DPS actions during the Austin protests in the press conference, saying without the state police, Austin’s leadership would have put the city’s residents in danger. Greg Abbott and other state leaders pledged a legislative measure that, if passed, would freeze property tax revenues for cities, like Austin, that divert funds away from police. His grandmother was told if Teal didn’t show up or turn himself in soon, other agencies who see the warrant may come back at night with a no-knock warrant, which allows police to forcibly enter homes without warning, Carter said. How many people have died in the George Floyd riots? The prison was understaffed. A Texas-based lawyer is among those who have been terminated from their job after being identified as a participant in Wednesday's riot on Capitol Hill. Photograph: Ana Ramirez/AP. Word on the net tonight was that the action was going to be — supposedly — in Austin, Texas as Antifa/BLM was holding a memorial for Garrett Foster, the moron who pointed the business end of an AK-47 at active duty Army Sargeant Daniel Perry, who is well trained to not wait for the other guy to shoot first once engaged. Greg Abbott was in Dallas Thursday to announce legislative proposals that give harsher penalties to people involved in riots, which includes mandatory jail time. The not-so-well-trained former Air Force mechanic Foster ended up on the … Aug. 21, 202012 PM. State police believe he threw a water bottle at an officer during the May protest. Ruins on East Lake Street. According to three sources familiar with the situation, several of those involved were maximum security prisoners—though the unit was designated medium and minimum security. The move by the progressive council further widened a long-running divide between Austin’s elected officials, who see a need for substantial changes to a criminal justice system whose officers disproportionately use force against people of color, and state leaders, who fear that pulling resources from law enforcement will endanger public safety. But that could be costly, and officials said it might not be foolproof either. Bernstein, Godsey’s attorney, said her client, suspected of spray painting the Capitol doors, was arrested at gunpoint while getting into a car nearly a month after the protest. “Law enforcement feels like they’re under attack, so I think this is maybe their way of standing up for themselves … but this is not the way to do it.”. “He has no history of arrest for anything serious and was offering no resistance.”. In George Floyd's hometown of Houston, family members joined a march on June 2, estimated to be 60,000 strong; a video appeared to show a female protester in Houston being trampled by a police officer on a horse. 1 of 114 San Antonio Police clear a radius around Alamo Plaza in anticipation of possible riots, Sunday, May 31, 2020. See above for the interactive map. The lawsuit focuses on the Texas anti-riot law, which was adopted in 1973 following a similar federal statute passed five years earlier. “What I sometimes hear is people valuing property more than lives,” Moore said. The agency said department officials “look forward to making our case in the appropriate venue.”. Prominent racial justice advocates in Austin agreed that destruction led largely by white people had taken over protests early after Floyd’s death. Let’s be clear. The medium-security unit wasn’t supposed to hold high-risk prisoners, but it did. Prisoners were increasingly upset about the coronavirus pandemic. ... who has a doctorate in marriage and family therapy and leads the graduate counseling program at Texas Wesleyan University. A Texas Guerrillas member who calls himself, "Apex," third from right, and others carry weapons at a Black Lives Matter rally in Austin, Texas, U.S., Aug. 1, 2020. At Briscoe, officials say dozens of prisoners swarmed a day room and took a 21-year-old guard hostage for more than two hours. Travis County Attorney David Escamilla, who handles misdemeanor prosecutions in Texas’ capital city, said earlier this month that most of the cases presented by DPS are still being reviewed on an individual basis to determine whether to accept or reject them — and none have yet been accepted. At least one person was injured in a shooting amid clashes between right- and left-wing groups at Washington’s Capitol campus in Olympia. Austin defense attorney George Lobb called the investigation and arrests “bullshit,” and accused the state of trying to steer public discourse away from a narrative that is critical and mistrusting of police and point instead to antifa groups as a distraction. Last: A DPS officer is pushed to the ground by a group of protesters. Protester and media recordings show people spray painted the building and monuments with anti-racist and anti-police remarks, dented and smashed windows of DPS SUVs, overturned a water fountain and roughly shoved at least one trooper to the ground. Greg Abbott , … Portland, Seattle Declare Riots; Chicago Pushback: Protest Wrap Bloomberg News July 26, 2020, 10:34 AM EDT Updated on July 26, 2020, 1:51 PM EDT Bernstein said DPS also obtained a warrant to track and trace Godsey’s phone prior to the arrest, which she had never seen before. Font Size: Republican Texas Gov. A Texas state trooper guards a section of the Capitol gates during a protest against police brutality on May 31. When a prisoner wants to open a cell door, a carefully placed shoelace or a piece of metal or even cardboard is enough to jimmy the lock, according to prisoners at three different units who said they’d done it themselves. Nonprofit journalism about criminal justice, A nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system, This article was published in partnership with. Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Minnesota. “If anyone has any ideas that politics don’t affect policing, I hope that ... gets put away.”. Carter said on July 28, seven DPS officers in five police cars showed up at the house with guns drawn. Texas is experiencing a spike in COVID-19 cases, which Gov. “What is the definition of security if inmates won’t even remain locked in their cells?” she said. "They show up [five cars] deep at his grandma’s house. These “riots” are mostly white folks out here. https://heavy.com/news/2020/05/viral-videos-protests-riots-george-floyd ELECTION 2020. Dallas police said they made at least 74 arrests on Saturday night. After dozens were arrested at the Capitol and in downtown Austin during the May protests, there was little publicly disclosed state police action regarding the events in the following month. One former employee showed The Marshall Project a video of a coworker in South Texas demonstrating exactly how it’s done. said a former lieutenant at the maximum-security Telford Unit in East Texas. Since then, the Texas Department of Public Safety has spent the summer naming and arresting suspects, the majority of whom are accused of misdemeanors. The footage captured multiple objects being thrown from the crowd, but this suspected bottle hit a DPS sergeant’s head, cutting him. They both have said the review often involves getting through an immense amount of video footage. “There’s no greater responsibility that the agency has than to keep the people in custody and the staff there safe,” said Michele Deitch, a senior lecturer on prisons at University of Texas at Austin. Do you value our journalism? North Texas lawyer who videoed, participated in Capitol riot fired from his job. Dylan Vazquez, 20, of Fort Worth faces a riot participation charge. Texas Gov. More than a dozen current and former corrections-department employees told The Marshall Project about prisoners opening up their locked cells from Amarillo to Texarkana. A Republican Elector from Texas named Matt Patrick told a very interesting story this week. "He was with the protesters, it seems like documenting that," Escamilla said. [142] More arrests are expected as warrants are fulfilled and the agency seeks more tips from the public on additional suspects. The majority of the 14 people DPS says have been jailed as part of the investigation so far are suspected of only misdemeanor crimes, like pushing onto closed Capitol grounds or tossing water out of a bottle onto an officer, according to DPS press releases and arrest affidavits. — kcpolice (@kcpolice) May 31, 2020 He’s accused of spray painting the doors of the historic building. US attorney Erica MacDonald said on Friday that she had charged Ivan Harrison Hunter, a 26-year-old Texas resident, with traveling across state lines to participate in a riot. Shortly after Teal found out about the warrant, he learned how seriously the agency was looking for him when they showed up at his grandmother’s house, according to the teen’s lawyer, Kenavon Carter. According to a September 2020 estimate, arson, vandalism and looting caused about $1–2 billion in insured damage between May 26 and June 8, making this initial phase of the George Floyd protests the civil disorder event with the highest recorded damage in United States history. HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- More than 100 people were arrested on various offenses in a second night of protests and riots over the death of George Floyd, according to Houston police. Though keeping prisoners locked up may seem like the most basic task for a corrections department, prison system director abruptly retired after an investigation, heightened tensions and ushered in months-long lockdowns. by Jolie McCullough Date. In Austin, Texas, probably the most liberal city in the great state of Texas, Black Lives Matter (sponsored by Major League Baseball, the NFL, NBA and Nascar) along with AntiFA terrorists were stirring up trouble in Downtown. Then the men started fighting with each other until officers gassed the whole wing and shipped 98 prisoners to higher-security lock-ups nearby. DPS Director Steven McCraw, the state’s top cop, said days after the unrest in May that “violent extremists” who exploited the protests to cause destruction would be pursued. 42.01 Disorderly Conduct 42.02 Riot 42.03 Obstructing Highway or Other Passageway 42.04 Defense When Conduct Consists of Speech or Other Expression 42.05 Disrupting Meeting or Procession 42.06 False Alarm or Report 42.07 Harassment 42.08 Abuse of Corpse 42.09 Cruelty to Livestock Animals 42.10 Dog Fighting 42.11 Destruction of Flag 42.12 Discharge of Firearm in Certain Municipalities 42.13 The agency accused the Black 25 year old of participating in a riot, according to the affidavit, and the Travis County jail said he turned himself into jail earlier this month. … We Got GASSED At Dallas, Texas PROTEST / RIOTS! More than a month after that, Texas Department of Public Safety officers showed up at the home of Jordan Teal’s grandmother, guns drawn, and interrogated the 18 year old’s relatives, his attorney said. It’s kind of wild that they would go to those lengths … cops with guns drawn, there’s no telling what would happen.”. Trump takes no responsibility for riot, tours Texas border wall construction after days spent out of sight and banned from Twitter. This keeps everyone safe and allows your voice to continue to be heard. — cole conish (@askmorquestions) May 30, 2020. — George P. Bush (@georgepbush) June 13, 2020 In late May, protesters in San Antonio spray-painted graffiti on the Alamo Cenotaph. In Austin, the demonstrations were also propelled by the April death of Mike Ramos, an unarmed Black and Hispanic man who was fatally shot by Austin police as he drove away from officers. — cole conish (@askmorquestions) May 30, 2020. Lt. Gov. Updated: June 10, 2020 As protests erupt across the US over the death of George Floyd, numerous law enforcement officers have been attacked or killed during the riots. Perhaps it goes without saying — but producing quality journalism isn't cheap. She previously covered criminal justice for Houston Chronicle, and her work has appeared in the Washington Post Magazine, VICE, the New York Daily News and NBC News. Natalie Argyle - January 9, 2021. EL PASO, Texas -- Demonstrators gathering to protest the death of unarmed George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police believe they are being infiltrated by … A lot of them are plants by agencies. Eventually, the warden negotiated a truce, and the prisoners released their hostage, a little roughed up but not injured, officials said. If you are having trouble viewing the above map, click here. At some prisons, the locks simply get old and worn down enough that the latches don’t fully engage. And some were arrested multiple times for actions during the same protest, with new warrants issued weeks or months after initial arrests and police taking people from their cars and homes and putting them back into jail. The next day, Teal walked into the Travis County jail, with Carter by his side, to turn himself in. The arrest — and the 13 other jailings the agency has since announced in press releases through this month — was a result of DPS special agents’ extensive review of social media and surveillance videos. Prisoner advocates and policy experts like Deitch have been pushing for years for the creation of an independent oversight body to monitor and prevent recurring problems in state prisons, including poor conditions, medical care and security. Statewide there’s even a slang term for it: keying the door. The Department of Public Safety said 11 officers suffered cuts and bruises from assaults during that weekend's protests. The budget decision drew ire this week from the top three elected officials in a state government whose law enforcement arm continues arrests of people suspected of committing crimes at a protest nearly three months ago. Some prisoners said that people are popping out more often now that the pandemic has heightened tensions and ushered in months-long lockdowns. Abbott Announces Proposals For Harsher Penalties To Those Involved In Riots September 24, 2020 at 2:30 pm Filed Under: Dallas , dallas police , DFW News , Gov. DPS reported 11 officers were injured with cuts and bruises from assaults during Capitol protests that weekend, and tens of thousands of dollars worth of property damage was done. Then, on June 25, DPS announced a new arrest — 23-year-old Godsey, who is white, was picked up on suspicion of a felony criminal mischief charge. “DPS is using antifa as a modern day boogeyman to justify their existence and their unnecessarily aggressive tactics,” Lobb said. Teal, an 18-year-old recent high school graduate, was counting down the weeks until college when he found out he was wanted on suspicion of a felony in July. “The best way to manufacture a crisis is to create a response that is disproportionate to the perceived threat, perceived being the operative word.”. At least one other DPS case has already been rejected by prosecutors. As what usually happens at these communist riots… State Troopers stood guard on the state Capitol grounds during a May 31 protest against the death of George Floyd. Martin Luther King Jr. By Tim Rogers Published in FrontBurner May 31, 2020 3:37 pm SMS. Guards are also concerned. The information he is imparting is secondhand. The Department of Public Safety has spent months trying to identify and find protestors, many of whom have been accused of participating in a riot. Pointing back to the Boston Tea Party at America’s onset, the vice president for diversity and community engagement at the University of Texas at Austin said destructive behavior is sometimes the only way to get people to pay attention to aggrieved communities. The defense attorneys claim the investigation is part of the political fight to protect law enforcement from deep changes Texas leaders say would endanger public safety. Greg Abbott declared a State of Disaster Sunday and authorized federal agents to serve as Texas police officers.

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