Members of several groups affiliated with the national Black Lives Matter movement attended am armed rally in Richmond, Va., to demand reparations for descendants of black slaves, according to a Thursday report.
According to video posted on social media, members of BLM757, BLMRVA, and the Fred Hampton Gun Club were seen participating in the rally on Monday, with many armed with rifles in the gun-free zone of the state capitol.
For some reason, police refused to enforce the gun-free zone but did tell the groups to move back toward a sidewalk because they didn’t have a permit to protest, The Post Millennial reported.
While not enforcing the gun free zone, police approached the armed reparations activists and told them they had to move back toward a sidewalk on account of not having a protest permit.
The group complied. pic.twitter.com/kPmIkCysWS
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) January 17, 2023
Independent journalist and documentary filmmaker Ford Fischer said the group was not only advocating for reparations but also the passage of HR40, a state measure aimed at studying the subject.
Monday — Martin Luther King Jr. day — was the annual day of advocacy at the state capitol. The protest took part next to gun control and gun-rights demonstrators. Each year on the same day, citizens meet up with their representatives during what is informally called lobby day.
Virginia Delegate AC Cordoza (R) spoke with BLM activists who encouraged him to patron a state bill that would study the concept of reparations for descendants of slavery.
“I don’t have problems with studies” he said and added that he’d be willing to look into it further. pic.twitter.com/gcCMqTGQWf
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) January 17, 2023
VIDEO THREAD: Today BLM757, Fred Hampton Gun Club & BLMRVA held an armed rally in Richmond, Virginia demanding reparations for descendants of enslaved people.
A speaker described other groups getting reparations including former slave owners, “but the Black man and Black woman.” pic.twitter.com/QJN4ZhXRsI
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) January 17, 2023
Republicans have sought to roll back gun control measures enacted when Democrats controlled all levers of power in Virginia. Now, Republicans control the House while Democrats control the state Senate, with Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, so major shifts either way aren’t likely for the time being.
Still, it is notable that Democratic lawmakers were not critical of black groups showing up armed at a gun-free zone near the capitol building. Had white groups showed up armed, in violation of the law, it’s more likely Democrats would have accused them of “insurrection,” especially if they were conservative organizations.
