#Louisville protests continue in wake of Breonna Taylor decision

Protesters took to the streets in Louisville for the second night of unrest in the Kentucky city Thursday, as demonstrators confronted armed militia members in the wake of a grand jury decision to clear cops in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor, according to reports.

Police formed a perimeter around nearly 100 protesters who sought refuge at the First Unitarian Church, with at least 50 demonstrators trapped in the courtyard as police moved in and at least 20 others inside the sanctuary, the Courier-Journal reported.

Among those arrested early in the night was Kentucky state Rep. Attica Scott, the state lawmaker who co-authored Breonna’s Law, a police reform bill that bans no-knock search warrants similar to the one police executed when Taylor was shot March 13, Ryan Van Velzer, a reporter for WFPL News in Louisville, said on Twitter.

Police also arrested protesters elsewhere in downtown Louisville, including one man who spit at officers as he was handcuffed and pinned down by cops, the Courier-Journal said.

The crowds, chanting “Breonna Taylor,” marched through the city in spite of a curfew that went into effect after a grand jury on Wednesday announced that three cops who shot the 26-year-old EMT would not be charged in her death.

One since-fired officer, Brett Hankison, was charged with three counts of “wantonly” firing his gun, with bullets going into a neighboring apartment.

Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer — who has not spoken publicly since the decision was announced — made a brief appearance at Jefferson Square earlier in the night.

Palmer stopped at a memorial for her daughter, wearing a black satin jacket that read, “Until Freedom” over a T-shirt with a picture of state Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

It was Cameron who presented the case to the grand jury and announced the outcome on Wednesday.

“It’s crazy,” she told the Courier-Journal. “The love is still here.”

“It doesn’t end here,” she said. “People need to get out and vote. Voting is going to get the change we need. Protesting is nothing if we don’t take it to the polls.”

Protesters also came face-to-face with armed militia groups that made their way into the city earlier in the day.

The militia members, dressed in camouflage and armed, included members of a group called the “Oath Keepers.”

The group is identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as “one of the largest radical anti-government groups in the US,” the outlet said.

No violence between the two groups was reported early in the night.

Police said 127 people were arrested on Wednesday, prompting city officials to extend a 9 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. curfew through the weekend.