Fifth night of Downtown protests erupts into scuffles with police and among crowd
Authorities block attempts to enter Memphis-Arkansas and Hernando DeSoto bridges
A protestor kneels in front of a line of police near Beale Street during a protest over the murder of George Floyd June 1, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
A protester confronts a line of Shelby County Sheriff's deputies while trying to cross the Harahan Bridge in Memphis during a protest on Sunday, May 31, over the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
A protester refuses to move out of the street during the waning moments of a protest in Memphis on Monday, June 1, over the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Protesters blocked traffic on Interstate 55 in Memphis on Sunday, May 31. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Protesters throw smoke bombs back at the Shelby County Sheriff's Deputies during a protest on Sunday, May 31, over the Minneapolis killing of George Floyd. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
A protester helps a fellow protester wash the tear gas out of his eyes after being fired on by Shelby County Sheriff's deputies in Memphis on Sunday, May 31. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Memphis Police officers face off against a group of protesters in the early-morning hours of Monday, June 1. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Shelby County Sheriff's deputies pepper spray a crowd of protesters advancing on the Hernando Desoto Bridge during a protest on Sunday, May 31. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Protesters confront a Memphis Police officer in his car in Memphis during a protest on Sunday, May 31. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Recent Northwest Community College graduate Nyaisha Doyle cheers on protestors marching down Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee during a protest over the murder of George Floyd May 31, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Protestors celebrate after eluding authorities and stopping traffic along Interstate 55 in Memphis, Tennessee during a protest over the murder of George Floyd May 31, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Frank Gottie (right) takes the microphone from Devante Hill effectively ending Hill's leadership of the march during a protest over the murder of George Floyd May 31, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Police stand off against the last remnants of protesters early Monday, June 1. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Memphis Police officer in riot gear threaten members of the media while trying to clear the streets of Memphis during a protest over the killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Riot police gather Downtown on Sunday evening, May 31, 2020. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
As hundreds of protesters gathered Downtown Sunday evening and early Monday morning, there was more tension and more strategy than the previous four demonstrations in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. And some of the tension was among different camps of activists.
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George Floyd Downtown Memphis protests Beale Street tear gasBill Dries on demand
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Bill Dries
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.
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