Six arrested near Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond after police were hit with paintballs, other objects

Six people were arrested in Richmond, Va., on Friday night near the city’s statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee after clashes with local police.

The Richmond Police Department said Saturday morning that officers arrived at the statue to declare an unlawful assembly where about 75 to 100 protesters had gathered. The officers were then struck with paintballs and other objects.

OVERNIGHT UPDATE: 6 arrests made pic.twitter.com/ehhoTDJSiU

— Richmond Police (@RichmondPolice) June 27, 2020

Of those arrested, five were adults and one was a minor. Three people were arrested for unlawful assembly; the minor was arrested for unlawful assembly, obstruction of justice and assaulting an officer; one person was arrested for trespassing and obstructing justice; and the final person was arrested for unlawful assembly and obstructing justice.

The department said four officers and one state trooper were struck with paintballs, one officer was struck in the back of the head with a “hard object” and treated at a local hospital, and a final officer was hit in the back of the neck with another unidentified “hard object.” 

The crowd ultimately dispersed by 11:35 p.m.

The statue of Lee, hosted by the city that once served as the Confederacy’s capital, has been a focal point of protests for weeks since the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis last month.

Protesters energized by the killing have called for statues honoring Confederate leaders and other figures who owned slaves to be torn down.