(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Twelve protesters in Kentucky’s largest were arrested Saturday night after they blocked roadways, surrounded vehicles, shot paintballs and destroyed property, police said.
Eight people were charged with felonies and four were charged with misdemeanors, Louisville police spokesman Sgt. Lamont Washington said in a statement.
Not all of the charges were available early Sunday, but the Courier Journal reported some counts included first-degree riot, unlawful assembly and failure to disperse.
Protests were held much of Saturday in Louisville, including an anti-eviction demonstration and a separate rally calling for action against the police officers involved in shooting Breonna Taylor the night she was killed in her apartment, the newspaper reported.
Taylor, an African American, was shot multiple times March 13 when police officers burst into her Louisville apartment using a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation. No drugs were found.
One officer has been terminated and two others are on administrative reassignment while authorities investigate.
Global protests on behalf of Taylor, George Floyd in Minnesota and others have been part of a national reckoning over racism and police brutality. Demonstrations have been taking place daily in Louisville since late May.
Protests held Saturday called for action in the killing of Breonna Taylor by police