The police showed up in full riot gear. Behind them, a line of National Guard members, dressed in beige camo, stood ready to intervene. Someone from the crowd would hurl a plastic water bottle in their direction, leading to another round of tear gas, another wave of panic and fear as the eye-searing chemical covered the streets in a thick haze.
For three nights in Madison, Wisconsin, the weekend after the murder of George Floyd, this was routine: Hundreds of young Black Lives Matter activists would march on downtown Madison’s main artery, State Street, to demand racial justice in the country’s most segregated state, only to be met with “nonlethal” weaponry—tear gas, pepper spray, and projectiles. Despite the crackdown, the protests continued. Throughout June, there were marches, sit-ins, block parties, poetry readings, and highway occupations that brought traffic to a halt.
Here are some images from those events.
1 of 6
Lauren Justice
On May 30 and May 31, largely nonviolent protesters in Madison were met with tear gas, often triggering stampedes to escape its cloud. These were the “most frightening and dangerous moments of each day,” wrote Alice Herman, a contributor to The Progressive.
2 of 6
Lauren Justice
Demonstrators regroup after being tear-gassed near the Wisconsin state capitol, where 93 percent of the state’s legislators are white.
3 of 6
Lauren Justice
Officers from the Madison Police Department stand guard at an intersection on State Street, protecting a stretch of retail outlets and restaurants.
4 of 6
Lauren Justice
Chants including “This is not a riot, this is a revolution,” “Hands up, don’t shoot,” and “No justice, no peace” are shouted by protesters as they face off against columns of police.
5 of 6
Lauren Justice
Though banned for use in war, tear gas is legal for police officers in the United States to employ for “domestic riot control purposes.”
6 of 6
Lauren Justice
A sedan in an intersection, stopped by the protesters on State Street.