Peaceful black protesters arrested in South Carolina and Missouri #News

Two peaceful black protesters in South Carolina and Missouri were arrested during demonstrations against police brutality, videos show.

In Charleston County, South Carolina, a demonstrator, identified as Givionne Jordan Jr. by the Post and Courier, is seen kneeling amid a line of peaceful protesters while facing officers in SWAT gear on Sunday afternoon, video shows.

“All of you are my family, I love each and every one of you. I cry at night because I feel the pain. I feel the pain. I feel the pain of black people. I feel the pain of white people,” the man is heard shouting in the video as he breaks down in tears, his voice growing hoarse while the others present remain silent, some with their hands on his shoulder.

“I would love to meet your kid, I would love to meet your family, I would love to see the best side of everybody here. This is not the best side of everybody here,” he continued.

“Do you want to make a stand? Do you want to make a change? Because if we charge you, if you charge us, what is that really doing?”

Moments after Jordan finished that last sentence, an officer is seen walking over to him, yanking him up from his kneeling position by his arm and bringing him away from the protesters — where he was arrested on the ground, according to the 2-minute clip, which has been seen more than 20 million times.

“What are you doing?” protesters shouted angrily.

“Freedom of speech!”

Records for Jordan’s arrest show he was cuffed on disobeying lawful order charges and was released the following day on a $465 bond after spending the night in jail.

Charleston Police Chief Luther Reynolds defended the arrest to the Post and Courier, saying the protesters had been ordered to disperse multiple times.

“We said, ‘If you don’t, you will be arrested,’” Reynolds told the outlet, not providing a response on why Jordan was singled out, or if anyone else was arrested.

Jordan countered that he had been in the area to help clean up after a night of fires and lootings and had been assisting business owners board up their windows as they geared up for another evening of chaos.

“My plan was to get all the people beside me, kneeling behind me, kneeling with me,” Jordan told the outlet. “Showing the cops that we are no threat. We are no threat at all. We just want to make the world better.”

The second, recorded incident, posted on Twitter early Monday, took place in Kansas City, Missouri, and showed a similar turn of events, according to the tweet and the video.

A black man, amid a line of protesters, is heard addressing a line of officers in SWAT gear, the minute-long clip shows.

“If you ain’t got the balls to protect the streets and protect and serve like you was paid to do, turn in your damn badge. But prematurely shooting people? Prematurely using excessive force? Get your scary ass on somewhere,” the man is heard saying as a line of officers approach him, one holding a canister of pepper spray, according to police and the video.

That officer reaches for the man and when the demonstrators start to scream in response, attempting to push the officer away, he sprays the protesters.

Kansas City Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jacob Becchina told The Post the man was arrested for “municipal/city protest related charges.”

“He did not resist his arrest, however the associated response from the crowd was aggressive and violent by throwing various objects and physically interfering with the arrest, which is also a crime for which they were not arrested for at that time, that is what led to the officers response with pepper spray,” Becchina said in an email.

“I would urge you to consider what may have occurred before the video started rolling is the only additional thing I would say,” he continued, adding he does not know the man’s name as the office is still sorting through records and he was one of 151 arrests made over the weekend.

He did not provide further comment.

The protests are just minute glimpses into nationwide chaos against police brutality following the officer-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.