Someone With An AR Rifle Was Arrested During 5th Night Of Protests In Charlotte

Protests have cropped up around the country since this past weekend, with many continuing into the week. Protests in North Carolina continued into a fifth night, Tuesday, June 2, with the day starting out peaceful. However, Uptown Charlotte some violent altercations were reported as curfew moved in, and a few arrests were made.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department were tweeting live during the late-night protests in Uptown last night.

"After being assaulted with bottles, rocks, and chemical agents, multiple dispersal orders were given," read one CMPD tweet.

"Officers gave protestors multiple avenues to leave the area. After refusal to leave, chemical agents were deployed to protect officers and the public." 

The violence apparently started to break out after 9:00 p.m. with the CMPD claiming objects were being thrown at officers, one CMPD post stating that a protester threw an unidentified chemical agent at a bike officer.

About an hour after that incident and with items allegedly being thrown, police moved forward with riot control agents to disperse the crowd around 9:49 p.m.

Around 10:20 p.m., the CMPD tweeted that one protester was arrested with an AR Rifle and two 30-round magazines.

Another arrest was made about an hour earlier, but no further details as to who was arrested and what led to their arrests have been released at this time.

Police posted that fireworks were also deployed at the officers a little after 9 p.m.

One user commented on a CMPD tweet, writing, "They only threw water bottles after one of your 'officers' grabbed a peaceful protester for no reason."

Another user, Joe Bruno from WSOC9, also replied with a photo that said, "An officer on a motorcycle just grabbed the back of the shirt collar of a protester. The protester broke free. Crowd started throwing water bottles at the officers and they left."

According to WSOC TV, protesters were out until 3:30 a.m. before the streets finally cleared.

Following the event, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department posted to Twitter that they were internally reviewing the events that transpired on 4th street "to ensure policy and protocol were followed."

There hasn't been any information about a curfew change for tonight, June 3, but the CMPD Twitter has been writing about the situations as they arise.