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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Jessica Glenza, Lauren Gambino and Nicky Woolf

Baltimore protests: 'acts of violence will not be tolerated' – as it happened

A man stands in front of police officers as curfew approaches
A man stands in front of a line of police officers in riot gear ahead of a 10 p.m. curfew Photograph: David Goldman/AP

Here's a summary of tonight's events:

  • A Department of Justice investigation into Gray’s death is set to report on Friday, though Rawlings-Blake cast doubt this afternoon as to the exact day the report might come.
  • In amazing scenes in the run-up to the curfew at 10PM, the Crips and the Bloods, the US’ two most famous gangs, held what appeared to be an impromptu press conference and appealed for calm.
  • After some slight initial flurries of glass-throwing, crowds were dispersed by midnight, largely peacefully. Police commissioner Batts said “approximately ten” arrests were made, in stark contrast to the previous night.

An end-of-night dispatch from Paul Lewis:

I expect that tomorrow morning one noteworthy figure in all of this will be congressman Elijah Cummings, who was instrumental in tamping down the unrest and persuading people to obey the curfew.

Cummings emerged around 9.45pm, just fifteen minutes before people were ordered off the streets. The US Representative for Maryland’s seventh congressional district, who lives a few blocks from where the crowd had gathered, urged both police and protesters to show restraint.

But he made clear he believed protesters had valid grievances and empathised with their plights. “Folks its almost 10 o’clock,” he said, roaming the crowd, and embracing one or two people - including one man who had a bloodied face. “You’ve got to start clearing out.”

Here are excerpts from what Paul filmed him telling people in the crowd:

On local anger over Freddie Gray’s death:

The police have to be much more transparent. We have a young man from this neighbourhood who is supposedly arrested without force of incident, who suffered a broken neck, a crushed larynx, and a splintered spinal cord and then died. It just goes against common sense for a lot of people. That’s hard.

We’ve gotta get on to this police department and make sure we look at it very carefully from top to bottom. And then we’ve got to listen to our children. Let me tell you: this is, without a doubt, the civil rights cause for this generation - this and voting rights. And America needs to wake-up - big time.”

On the neighbourhood’s young people:

We’ve got a lot of young people who are really hurt. I’ve been here 33 years. I raised my family here. I was born here. And then when I see our young I feel their pain. A lot of them didn’t get the education that they needed. They then find themselves unable to function like they want to. The next thing they know themselves in criminal trouble then they have a criminal record.”

On the need for police to show restraint:

You’ve got to have a situation where police hopefully have restraint here tonight. We’ve seen people boisterous, but you don’t see any kind of violence. I think if police will just stay calm and let people kind of ease out, I think we will be fine.”

Baltimore police commissioner Anthony Batts is speaking now. He says there were “no major events” this evening, and “approximately ten” total arrests.

The city is stable. We hope to maintain it that way.

Other protests have been occurring in solidarity with Baltimore around the country tonight. This was an hour ago in Chicago outside police headquarters:

Baltimore police commissioner Anthony Batts is set to speak to the media outside police HQ in fifteen minutes.

The Guardian’s Paul Lewis is live on Periscope right now:

Things seem to be winding down on the streets of Baltimore.

On CNN, Montel Williams tells Don Lemon that “America should be proud” right now, pointing in particular to the role gang members played in keeping the peace tonight.

Police swoop from an unmarked SWAT van on a kid who is holding a bottle. Jon and Ollie both catch the moment on Vine:

Meanwhile, more prosperous areas of Baltimore are ghost-like and empty, shops shut and roads clear, reports Ben Jacobs:

In the prosperous precincts of North Baltimore tonight, the city has turned into a ghost-town. Cars, convenience stores and gas stations are all closed and shuttered.

Shops that were even open on Christmas Day have signs saying ‘open at 6am’. Traffic has come to a standstill, only a handful of cars on the streets as major thoroughfares became near-empty.

The Guardian’s Mae Ryan and Steven Thrasher have left the police line, where, she says, “it was almost all media”.

“Dozens” of people still around where Oliver Laughland is:

Some confusion about the status of the media under this curfew.

Reporters on the ground have said that the helicopter announcements said that they would get arrested if they were out - though this tweet by police runs counter to that.

Certainly, police seem to be leaving the press alone so far.

One protester has been arrested. Steven Thrasher got a good view of it:

All Guardian team on the ground are safe and accounted-for. Jon is already fact-checking heroically.

A brusque dispatch from Steven Thrasher:

30 minutes after curfew more cops coming in. Gas came from projectiles, can’t tell if it was from police or protest side. Police advanced about 30 feet, then heard order “Hold the line!” At which point, cops pulled back from media. Tanked advanced into intersection, cops aligned with it.

Jon and Oliver almost caught by tear gas after a protester tries to throw a canister back at police.

“Now it’s teargas,” Jon Swaine reports

Reports of a small fire near Pratt Library, which the Sun’s Justin Fenton says was caused by a molotov cocktail:

Note: this was not, in fact, a Molotov cocktail, the Guardian’s Jon Swain confirms.

Updated

Smoke canisters - the police do not appear to be using tear gas - are not dispersing the crowds completely.

Our own Steven Thrasher sends this audio report from outside CVS, where bottles are being thrown at police.

I’m outside of the CVS in Baltimore, the Baltimore police are flying a helicopter over us threatening all media with arrest.

Plastic bottles are starting to be thrown ... most of the media does not want to stop reporting. It’s quite a disturbing scene.

Hear the whole report here:

CNN reporting that tear gas was deployed; then revised it, saying they were smoke-bombs.

Jon Swaine and Oliver Laughland still on the scene.

“Couple of plastic bottles hurled at police. Then the smash of glass. Police have temporarily stopped their march”, reports Jon Swaine on Twitter.

“Another glass bottle smashes at the other side of police line. And then a dinner plate. ‘No! Don’t do this shit!’ man shouting at them.”

The Baltimore Sun’s Ian Duncan is listening to the police scanner.

Loudspeaker on police helicopter now announcing that media will be arrested too.

Police line now advancing; bottles and rocks thrown.

A great angle on the story from the Guardian’s Ben Jacobs, who reports that Baltimore police are setting bail deliberately high to prevent those arrested last night from being out on the streets tonight.

In a radio interview with WBAL-AM, Delegate Curt Anderson said that courts were deliberately setting bail bonds as high as $500,000 for those arrested on Monday. The veteran Baltimore politician described one youth who was photographed breaking the windshield of a police car on North Avenue during the disturbances.

He said that the young man’s expression visibly fell when he heard his bail number. This mean he wasn’t getting out of jail that day but instead would be detained for months.

Anderson said that the goal of this was keep offenders off the streets in the coming days and ensure that they wouldn’t be on the streets when States Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced the results of her investigation into the death of Freddie Gray on Friday.

This would keep the streets calm and serve as a deterrent, as Anderson said “the court commissioners ain’t playing.”

The only disturbance so far appears to be a group of people unhappy with Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera.

Rep. Cummings says he’s feeling “real pain” for this neighbourhood, right now on CNN.

The police have to be much more transparent. We’ve got a situation where we have a young man from this neighbourhood, supposedly arreested without incident ... then he died. It just goes against common sense for some people. That’s hard.

This is the civil rights cause of this generation.

The interview is brought to a close by police, who are enforcing the curfew.

10PM - curfew is now in force

It’s crunch time.

“Going into the curfew it is not the police who are pushing people to go home the most, but a group of volunteers who live near here,” says writer-at-large Steven Thrasher.

Sometimes linking arms in a line in front of the line of riot cops, the neighbors are forcefully trying to get protesters and the media to leave the area.

At times begging, at times mildly pushing, they are trying to get us all to leave. Each time they sweep the intersection, though, the void just fills in again.

Three choppers flying overhead, two very low, and a voice saying “please go home” calling out over a bullhorn.

A picture of the scene just before the curfew falls, from the Guardian’s Mae Ryan:

Jon Swaine is at the focus point, and sends this report:

Things are at a standstill at the intersection of North Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue, where a CVS pharmacy was torched last night and protesters have gathered steadily throughout the day in the sunshine.

A group of people including members of the Bloods and Crips gangs - marked out by their red and blue bandanas - inserted themselves between the police line and protesters. Then they slowly drove out the demonstrators en masse in advance of 10pm’s curfew. “We are going home,” said one.

While it broke up the rump of the demonstration, scattered groups and reporters remain in the intersection while the intervening group pleads with people to leave. “Go home,” reads the marker pen inscription on one man’s sign. “Fight another day,” it reads on the other.

But with 10 minutes before the curfew is enacted, perhaps 500 or 600 people remain around the intersection. A long line of police in riot gear continue to look over them. Their intentions for after 10pm are not yet clear.

CNN currently reporting that the mayor is on the loudhailer, asking people to go home. Massed protesters facing lines of police, with just five minutes to go until curfew.

This moment will be a real test of the police’s patience. There are a lot of people still on the streets. Things could get nasty quickly.

Baltimore police reporting on Twitter that a group of people have started throwing rocks. Arrests are being made.

Ben Jacobs has this report:

At The Diz, a bar in the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood of Remington near Johns Hopkins University, customers rapidly left after 8PM on Tuesday.

The curfew meant that the kitchen would close at 8 and the bar just an hour afterwards. There was a slightly edgy, uncomfortable fear as customers finished their pints while an NBA game played in the background.

People were ready to obey the curfew at the predominantly white bar. Rules were rules and no one wanted to get into trouble.

With just over 20 minutes to go until curfew, lines of people have formed, and are currently helping police make people go home.

A quick throwback to this extraordinary video from yesterday, shot by local ABC affiliate WMAR, of a mother beating her son around the head for throwing rocks at police.

You can see the original here.

Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake takes to Twitter to say that while she is “encouraged by what we are seeing tonight”, the curfew will still take effect at 10.

Maryland state senator Catherine Pugh just addressed the crowd from police loudspeaker, according to Jon Swaine, who is on the scene. She praised peaceful protest and said “take your babies home”, Jon says.

The Guardian’s Jon Swaine and Oliver Laughland are both at North Ave and Pennsylvania Ave in West Baltimore.

This was the epicentre of much of last night’s violence, but it looks like the members of the notorious Crip and Blood gangs are keeping their promise to help maintain the peace. Extraordinary scenes.

One hour to go until curfew.

As darkness falls, the streets of Baltimore still throng with protesters.

Jon Swaine interviews 15-year-old Sin - a member of the notorious Crip gang. She says:

This is my life. It ain’t about me being a Crip, being a bad person, shooting people, shit like that. It’s about coming together, making our community better.

She says when the curfew comes, “I’m gonna go home, because I don’t wanna get shot”.

Here’s the full video:

Jon Swaine interviews Sin

Updated

Another of Oliver Laughland’s interviews from earlier - this is Anthony Smith, 23, from East Baltimore.

He says he wants answers, and feels he hasn’t got them. As with many people tonight, he’s against the curfew - which comes in force in just over an hour - if protests are peaceful.

Some members of the two most notorious gangs in America just held a press conference on national TV.

The gangs are usually enemies. But tonight, the Guardian’s Jon Swaine reports:

Pretty amazing moment just now as group of bloods and crips came out together to deny being to blame for anything last night and say they kept things from being worse (seems to be true).

Jon got a video interview with some of them, which we’ll have for you soon.

Baltimore Ravens star Ray Lewis - not to be confused with our own Paul Lewis - released this emotionally-charged video today, in which he pleads for calm.

“Too many hardworking people built this city,” says Lewis, who spent his entire 17-year NFL career in Baltimore. “We put this city together. We put this city on our back.”

Ray Lewis speaks out

Earlier, Oliver Laughland interviewed Heidi Alsangak, 22, from Randallstown, Maryland. This is her first time protesting. She told him:

I want to say it’s not just for Freddie Gray – it’s for every single life here in the United States, whether black, white, brown, asian, whatever. We all deserve justice, we all deserve peace.

About the curfew, she said that she was “planning to stay as long as my heart will allow me to”, and thinks that if people are protesting peacefully, there shouldn’t be a curfew.

You can hear the whole interview here:

Baltimore police have a plan:

Two hours to go until curfew.

Protesters are gathering in several locations in downtown Baltimore, as dusk falls and curfew approaches.

Ben Jacobs, who was there yesterday, describes the scene as “much more peaceful” than this time last night - possibly due to the 1700 national guardsmen, and police forces from across the state in the city tonight.

Last night saw 235 arrests, more than 150 vehicle fires, and as many as 20 officers wounded.

Ben is still near City Hall.

Steven Thrasher is still outside the burned-out CVS, and sends this report of the scene:

Shortly before sunset and long the 10 PM curfew, the scene is somewhat light outside of the CVS in Baltimore which was burned last night. Volunteers have been sweeping out the interior while a line of civilians stands in front of a line of riot cops.

Meanwhile, from two different directions bands of peaceful protesters came to fill the streets. From the south came the 300 Men March; and from the East came a parade of dancing and drumming boys and girls.

He took this video:

Bands of protesters fill the streets outside the burned-out CVS.

Rep. Elijah Cummings was on that conference call with attorney-general Loretta Lynch, along with Senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin, and representatives C.A. ‘Dutch’ Ruppersberger and John Sarbanes.

He just released the following statement:

This evening I had a very productive conversation with my colleagues in the Maryland Congressional Delegation and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch. The Attorney General assured us that the DOJ investigations of the Baltimore City Police Department are ongoing and have her highest priority and attention.

I feel confident that the DOJ will conduct thorough investigations and that the findings will help provide answers to the many questions surrounding the death of Freddie Gray and the policies and practices of the Baltimore City Police Department.

An update from the Baltimore Sun’s John Fritze on the Department of Justice investigation into Freddie Gray’s death - the death that started all this:

Also at City Hall, Ben Jacobs has this to say:

Outside city hall, dozens of television news cameras were set up as reporters flocked to Baltimore around the world. They interviewed local worthies for the 24 hour news cycle as they dealt with periodic interruptions.

A caravan of 25 cars drove by honking loudly as passengers leaned out windows and sun roofs shouting “No Justice No Peace.”

Soon after they left, just as quiet returned, a crowd of 150 protestors showed up in the plaza around City Hall shouting “hands up don’t shoot” and bearing signs with Freddie Gray’s picture saying Black Lives Matter.

At the edge of the crowd hecklers shouted at local black politicians who were there to speak to the cameras as symbols of an establishment which let them down.

Paul is also live on Periscope from City Hall:

A crowd of protesters have just reached City Hall. Paul Lewis and Ben Jacobs are both on the scene. Paul says:

The quiet outside Baltimore’s City Hall was just punctured by the arrival of a crowd of some 200 protesters. The administrative building in the heart of the city had been surrounded by National Guard troops, armed with wooden sticks and automatic weapons, in a show of force that has been magnet for the network TV channels.

The backdrop was supposed to show the city that law and order was back in control. But just after 7pm the quiet was interrupted by a convoy of cars, with beeping horns and people hanging out of windows chanting “our streets”.

Shortly after the a crowd of activists arrived and climbed on top of a raided monument holding an American flag. The crowd is predominantly young and they’re angry.

They’re holding Black Lives Matters signs and several in the crowd are shouting loudly at the troops, urging them to go home. “You’re making us look bad,” one man just shouted at an armed guard.

“Do not bring Eric Holder or Al Sharpton to this city,” another man shouted. “They ain’t done nothing for us.”

The mayor’s office has just sent out a release with more details about tonight’s curfew, which will be in force from 10PM - 5AM, for the next seven days, unless specifically extended or rescinded by the mayor’s office.

These are the details (I’ve bolded the important bits):

  • The nighttime curfew applies for all citizens (with the exception of emergency personnel and those commuting to or from work for essential functions, including students traveling to or from classes).
  • Non-essential business operations should be suspended from 10:00 pm until 5:00 am. This includes restaurants, entertainment venues, and bars, which should be closed during these times. Visitors and patrons should plan enough travel time before the curfew begins.
  • For essential business operations, employees traveling to or from work during the curfew should have a valid picture ID (presumably a driver’s license) and a document from their employer stating their need to work during curfew hours with dates and employee hours.
  • Drivers or individuals may be stopped by law enforcement and should be prepared with the information above to avoid arrest. Violation of the curfew is a misdemeanor

There is a party atmosphere, too, where Ben and Oliver are - outside City Hall, and at North and Penn, respectively.

Steven Thrasher, the Guardian US’s writer-at-large, is also in Baltimore, outside the CVS which was burned during last night’s unrest, where police are already gathering. Curfew begins tonight at 10PM - in three hours time.

He tells me that as well as the line of cops, he is standing with “300 peaceful men and a parade of dancing boys and girls”

Oliver Laughland is with protesters at North and Penn Ave. He just sent in these pictures.

Protesters at Penn and North
Protesters at Penn and North Photograph: Oliver Laughland/Oliver Laughland / The Guardian
Protesters at Penn and North
Protesters at Penn and North Photograph: Oliver Laughland/Oliver Laughland / The Guardian

My colleague Jon Swaine, in West Baltimore, has his eyes on the sky.

Governor Hogan: "We've got a long night ahead of us."

Back to governor Hogan. “We’ve got a long night ahead of us,” he says.

We will put all the resources at our disposal to make sure we don’t get overwhelmed like last night. We’ve got a lot of manpower ... and we’re going to put whatever resources we need to keep the people of Baltimore safe.

Says that the call to end the state of emergency is one he’ll make himself. “I’ll know it when I see it.”

Hogan also says he doesn’t want to apportion blame.

I don’t want to second-guess the mayor’s decisions ... when she asked us for help, we immediately responded.

It normally takes eight hours to mobilise the national guard, Hogan says, but they were already waiting - so they did it in three hours. So to some extent, he was already second-guessing the mayor...

Those of you by a TV might want to tune to MSNBC right now, where my colleague Paul Lewis is talking to the Rev. Al Sharpton about how the story was told last night through the streaming app Periscope.

Updated

General Singh, of the Maryland national guard, next to governor Hogan, says that over 1700 guardsmen have been activated in Baltimore in less than a 24 hour period.

Maryland’s governor Larry Hogan is giving a press conference.

Protecting innocent lives and property is our number one priority.

At sunrise today, I surveyed the damage ... started at the west Baltimore precinct, and went on the Mondawmin mall. During these visits I saw neighbours working together to restore normalcy.

He says that the national guard’s primary mission is to maintain order. “Acts of violence and destruction of property will not be tolerated,” he says.

As the daylight fades, it’s worth taking a step back and thinking about how we got here.

This piece by my colleague Jana Kasperkevic looks into the economic forces behind the neighbourhood at the centre of all this: Sandtown-Winchester, Freddie Gray’s neighbourhood. You can check out the data below.

interactive baltimore

Updated

Rawlings-Blake is on CNN hedging her bets as to whether, as commissioner Batts has said, there will be a report from the investigation into Freddie Gray’s death available on Friday.

On the question of whether the Baltimore police need major changes, Rawlings-Blake says:

Absolutely. I’m sure you know we have the Department of Justice in Baltimore at my request to do collaborative reform.

This issue around police brutality, and holding officers accountable, this is something I’ve worked on for years.

She says she’s “very keenly aware of the issues”, and the city is “pushing to get better”.

Mayor Rawlings-Blake is live on CNN answering questions. She’s received criticism of the way she’s handled the crisis - especially for saying on Saturday that she wanted to give space for protesters “to destroy”.

I want to say, just to be very clear, a lot of this started with high school kids. We tried to have a response that was appropriate, and not excessive.

It wasn’t allowing rioters to loot and burn down. It was making sure we had an appropriate response.

She says the community is “really coming together in a way the police can’t really do.”

By the way, this is Nicky Woolf here, taking over the liveblog from Jess Glenza and Lauren Gambino in New York as Tuesday evening approaches.

Out in Baltimore right now for the Guardian US we have Paul Lewis, Jon Swaine, Mae Ryan, Ben Jacobs and Oliver Laughland.

More from Batts, who says about 15 officers were injured last night:

We had a lot of our officers with bruises on their hands from bottles and rocks being thrown ... I visited one officer, Brian, in hospital, he’s doing well.

All the other injured officers, he says, are home and OK.

At the same press conference, Baltimore police commissioner Anthony Batts says that Tuesday has been “a very good day” overall.
“I had one of my officers say to me, I went home and cried last night,” Batts says. “But what you’re seeing today also is people out celebrating and trying to heal this city.”

Batts is addressing the question of why the response last night was slow.

People ask, why didnt you prepare yesterday? Why didnt you move faster? Because they’re 14, 15 year-old kids. Do you want people using force on 14, 15 year-old kids? They’re old enough to be accountable but they’re still kids.

Updated

Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has begun a press conference outside City Hall.

Last night was a very rough period for our city. But today I think we saw a lot more what Baltimore is about. We saw people coming together to reclaim our city, clean our city, and help heal our city. I think this can be our def moment, and not the darkest days we saw yesterday.

I spent the morning talking to residents, I visited along North avenue where residents were cleaning up and trying to give confidence to people ... I saw the damage done to Mondawmin Mall, and it breaks my heart because those of use from Baltimore know how much we fought for those resources and those stores.

She thanked the Baltimore police department, and all the law enforcement agencies that have helped out in the past week, as well as members of the community who “spent all day yesterday trying to figure out how we can come together to heal.”

Updated

As we wait for a 5pm press conference with Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, here’s another image of the demonstration at Pennsylvania Avenue and North Avenue.

Washington Post reporter Michael Fletcher, who has lived in Baltimore for more than 30 years, said the city has always been a “combustible mix of poverty, crime, and hopelessness, uncomfortably juxtaposed against rich history, friendly people, venerable institutions and pockets of old-money affluence”.

But don’t conflate Baltimore and Ferguson, Fletcher writes.

Baltimore is not Ferguson and its primary problems are not racial. The mayor, city council president, police chief, top prosecutor, and many other city leaders are black, as is half of Baltimore’s 3,000-person police force. The city has many prominent black churches and a line of black civic leadership extending back to Frederick Douglass.

Yet, the gaping disparities separating the haves and the have nots in Baltimore are as large as they are anywhere. And, as the boys on the street will tell you, black cops can be hell on them, too.

Baltimore
Demonstrators hold up a placard near the CVS Pharmacy that at was looted and burned on Pennsylvania Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland on Tuesday. Photograph: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

There will be baseball in Baltimore on Wednesday, but Baltimoreans will not be able to attend, my colleague and MLB fan Spencer Ackerman reports.

But is the move unprecedented? Well, we don’t know, Spencer says. According to Elias Sports Bureau, which compiles baseball statistics, it has no way of determining if there was a precedent for two teams playing to an empty ballpark in over 100 years of professional baseball.

Read more here.

Updated

My colleague Ben Jacobs has sent us this statement from Lis Smith, a spokeswoman for former Maryland governor and presidential hopeful, Martin O’Malley.

Governor O’Malley has arrived in Baltimore to be with the people in the city that he loves. Since last night, he has been reaching out to community leaders, the Mayor, and members of the clergy to offer his assistance where appropriate and needed.

In the coming days, he will be doing what he can to raise awareness about volunteer opportunities, while participating in the healing process with the people of Baltimore.

Updated

I just spoke to my colleague Jon Swaine who called in this report from west Baltimore:

At the moment, it’s fairly robust. It’s definitely not a retreating-type mood here. They protesters are not angry right now, but there’s a sort of toughness in the air and you can feel that people are still pissed off.

The crowd just walked along North Avenue and successfully pushed an armed vehicle from the Carroll County Sheriff’s department out of their path. They’re all celebrating at having driven this vehicle off their path.

They marched one whole block and a police car followed them. There was no real confrontation.

Actually, there was one white, middle-aged guy, who tried to get up in the window of the police van, and the young, black protesters asked told him to calm down because he was making everybody look bad.

My colleague in Baltimore, Jon Swaine, reports that firefighters have gone back into a CVS at Penn and North, which was one of two CVS drug stores set ablaze last night.

Summary

One day after violent protests rocked Baltimore, here are Tuesday’s key events:

  • Baltimore is still in a state of emergency.
  • Twenty police were injured in Monday night and Tuesday morning’s demonstrations.
  • More than 200 people have been arrested since Monday evening, 34 of whom are juveniles. There were also 144 vehicle fires, and multiple structure fires.
  • People cleaned the streets Tuesday, many residents expressing disgust and sadness at the destruction that led to numerous lootings, fires and and injuries.
  • There is a curfew for everyone in the city beginning at 10pm and lasting until 5am, which police have promised they will be enforcing.
  • People continue to gather on North and Pennsylvania Avenues, though protests have been peaceful through Tuesday afternoon.
  • National Guardsmen and police are on Baltimore’s streets. More than 1,000 additional National Guard are expected to be on the street by nightfall. Some neighboring states, such as New Jersey have even agreed to send police.
  • Barack Obama condemned those responsible for the violence and destruction in Baltimore, calling those responsible “criminals”.
  • Schools, shops and sports stadiums remain closed, amid worries of continued unrest.
  • Baltimore Police expect to be out throughout the night. The department’s brass expects to update the media once an hour throughout the evening.

Updated

The Baltimore Orioles have announced they will play the Chicago White Sox in Baltimore tomorrow, but that the stadium won’t be open to the public.

Fans can exchange their tickets for future games in a “dollar for dollar” swap. The Orioles will play their upcoming series against the Tampa Bay Rays as the home team there, in the two teams’ May 1 through 3 series.

In Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s most recent comments, she thanks first responders, and calls on those demonstrating to remain peaceful.

Earlier Tuesday, the mayor faced tough questions from reporters about whether she acted fast enough to he growing unrest in the city. On Tuesday morning, she told reporters that crises will always have “armchair quarterbacks” questioning officials’ decisions. Her reaction, however, has not stopped questions about her leadership.

Former Baltimore Ravens player Ray Lewis is calling on the youth of the city to stay peaceful, releasing a video on Facebook.

Former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis calls for peace in Baltimore.

“Young kids – you got to understand something. Get off the streets. Violence is not the answer. Violence has never been the answer. Freddie Gray – we don’t do nothing for him doing this,” Lewis said.

“We know there’s a deeper issue. We know what the jungle looks like, but this isn’t it ... Baltimore get off the streets. Kids go home, stay home.”

There are reports that the situation on North and Pennsylvania Avenues, an area where many people are again gathering, is heating up.

Baltimore Police Captain Eric Kowalczyk has just briefed the media, giving updated information on arrests and injuries.

  • At least 20 police officers were injured on Monday evening. Kowalczyk said many officers did not want to leave the line last night.
  • At least 144 vehicle fires were reported on Monday night and Tuesday morning.
  • Kowalczyk said 12 more people were arrested on Tuesday: seven adults and five juveniles.
  • As of Monday, 201 adults were arrested, and 34 juveniles were arrested.
  • North and Pennsylvania Avenues are now blocked by protesters, but Kowalczyk described the protesters as peaceful.

He says that Baltimore police intend to enforce the city’s 10pm to 5am curfew, and that there will be hourly briefings throughout the evening.

“Please, stay off the streets after 10pm unless you’re going to receive medical treatment or you’re coming from work,” Kowalczyk said.

Sirens could be heard whirring behind him as he spoke. Police expect to give a briefing every hour throughout the evening.

Updated

As we wait for the Baltimore Police to begin their 2pm press conference, here is another image of the demonstration at Pennsylvania Avenue and North Avenue.

Here are more images of protesters dancing in front of police on at North Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue, from CNN reporter Shimon Prokupecz.

Baltimore Police are advising drivers to avoid North Avenue, Fulton Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue.

Overhead images from a WBALTV11 helicopter shows what appears to be at least several dozen people blocking the intersection. Reporters from WBALTV11 described the demonstration as “peaceful,” some praying, amid a “large police presence”.

Reporters from WBALTV11 reported that the group is believed to be the 300 Men March, an anti-violence group that has marched the city peacefully demonstrating.

Despite multiple social media threats, Baltimore County Police Chief James Johnson says there are “no credible threats to our citizens, to our business, or other property in Baltimore County.”

Social media threats could “be 12-year-old children who live on the other side of the county.” Baltimore County police are using significant resources to verify, and in some cases debunk, social media threats, Johnson said.

The county is providing 50 officers to the city of Baltimore. “We believe we have adequate resources within the county,” said Johnson.

Updated

Now listening to Baltimore County Police Chief James Johnson and Baltimore County executive Kenneth Kamenetz take questions from reporters.

We’ll have more to come shortly on Obama’s comments from the Guardian’s Tom McCarthy. In the meantime Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is at the Bethel AME Church with local faith leaders.

Updated

Obama speaks about Baltimore protests at press conference

Obama spoke about the destruction in Baltimore: “There’s no excuse for the kind of violence we saw yesterday.”

When individuals get crow bars, and start prying open doors to loot, they’re not protesting they’re not making a statement – they’re stealing.

When they burn down a building, they’re committing arson, and they’re destroying and undermining businesses and opportunities in their own communities, that rob the jobs and opportunities from people in that area.

So, it is entirely appropriate that the mayor of Baltimore, who I spoke to yesterday, and the governor, who I spoke to yesterday, work to stop that kind of senseless violence and destruction.”

Those committing violence are “taking advantage of a situation” and need to be “treated as criminals,” Obama said, also referring to a “handful of criminals and thugs who tore up the place”.

Updated

Barack Obama is now speaking at his press conference about the protests and riots in Baltimore and about police violence:

Since Ferguson, and the task force we put together, we have seen too many instances of what appears to be police officers interacting with individuals, primarily African-American, often poor, in ways that raise troubling questions.

This seems to be happening once a week now, he suggested.

Updated

The Guardian’s Tom McCarthy (@TeeMcSee) has provided us with a little more information about the New Jersey state police expected to arrive in Baltimore tonight.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, meanwhile, a potential opponent for Paul in the Republican primary, said that he had consulted with Hogan and was sending a contingent of New Jersey state police to Maryland.

“Our full deployment of @NJSP will unfold later today to help ensure a peaceful resolution for the city and people of Baltimore,” Christie tweeted.

There will be a deployment of 150 @NJSP and personnel and 100 of those troopers will provide operational support. Approximately 50 enlisted and civilian personnel will provide investigative and logistical support. @NJSP will be on the ground for the initial term of 72 hours, as per the request from Maryland.”

Updated

CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz has posted this short video showing police lines in the city.

Updated

Hogan told reporters that “there are no more fires burning, there are no more lootings going on. You see a tremendous presence on the streets,” a reference to national guardsmen and police on Baltimore’s streets.

He also told reporters about measures being taken by Maryland to stabilize Baltimore:

  • Another 1,000 national guardsmen are expected to be in Baltimore by tonight.
  • The governor has called on 2,000 volunteers to help clean up the city.
  • Other states have agreed to share resources, including New Jersey. Governor Chris Christie is sending Baltimore 150 state troopers.
  • The governor has requested emergency donations from other states.

“We’re going to make sure the city is brought back to peace,” Hogan said.

Updated

Governor Larry Hogan is getting quite a few questions about the Baltimore mayor’s response to the violence Tuesday, just as the press conference ends.

The Obama-Abe press conference begins just as the Hogan conference ends. Obama is expected to take questions on the violence in Baltimore. We’ll cover that shortly.

Updated

Maryland governor: 'No repeat of last night'

Maryland governor Larry Hogan on what will happen on Tuesday night:

We’re going to ensure we’re going to bring whatever resources are necessary, whatever assets are necessary… We’re not going to have another repeat of what happened last night.”

Updated

Maryland governor Larry Hogan is about to speak about the protests in Baltimore. Watch the press conference here.

Updated

President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are expected to hold a joint press conference at noon, in just a few minutes.

Obama is expected to take questions on the violence in Baltimore.

The White House is live-streaming a joint press conference with President Obama and Shinzo Abe.

Rawlings-Blake faced tough questions from reporters in west Baltimore this morning, many asking whether she’d done enough to stem the violence of Monday night.

I wish I could be three different places at once. Everybody knows there’s an operation response that had to be done. The situation evolved very quickly and required my direct attention and I gave it my direct attention.

She continued that, telling Fox45 Baltimore: “You know when you have a 24-hour news cycle it never seems enough, but I can’t shirk my responsibilities, to do the work of being mayor and responding and managing the crisis as it unfolds. ”

She said crises often produce “armchair quarterbacks” who would question her response.

“We have additional resources and we’ll continue to bring in the resources as we need.”

Updated

Pressure on Baltimore mayor

Pressure was growing on Tuesday on Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to lead the city away from violence after she was accused of delaying an emergency response and making statements alternately criticized as inciting riotous protests and dismissing protesters’ concerns.

At a news conference on Sunday, Rawlings-Blake said she had ordered police to “give those who wished to destroy space to do that”.

On Monday night she made a testy appearance at a news conference in which she referred twice to protesters as “thugs.”

The mayor’s office later said Rawlings-Blake’s comments on Sunday had been misunderstood. “The mayor is not saying that she asked police to give space to people who sought to create violence,” the office said in a statement. “Any suggestion otherwise would be a misinterpretation of her statement.”

Meanwhile Maryland governor Larry Hogan suggested at a news conference Monday that he would have called a state of emergency and activated the national guard sooner, but he could not reach Rawlings-Blake to coordinate it.

“We were all in the command center in the second floor of the state House in constant communication, and we were trying to get in touch with the mayor for quite some time,” Hogan said. “She finally made that call, and we immediately took action.”

Rawlings-Blake, a Baltimore native who took office in 2010 after her predecessor was convicted of embezzlement, held a news conference Monday to condemn looting and burning by protesters.

“I’m a lifelong resident of Baltimore and too many people have spent generations building up this city for it to be destroyed by thugs who in a very senseless way are trying to tear down what so many have fought for,” Rawlings-Blake said, later tweeting a version of the line.

By Tuesday morning, the mayor had softened her tone. “Seeing my city like this breaks my heart,” she tweeted. “But, like so many Baltimoreans, my resolve is strong. We are already seeing volunteers from across Baltimore joining together to clean up damage. We will not let these deplorable and cowardly acts of violence ruin #OurCity.”

In three years of Rawlings-Blake’s mayoral term, the city of Baltimore paid out $5.7m to settle lawsuits claiming that police officers violently assaulted members of the public and abused criminal suspects, according to an investigation by the Baltimore Sun.

Updated

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has spent most of Tuesday morning supporting cleanup efforts around the city.

Updated

As a reminder, a city-wide curfew in Baltimore begins tonight, from 10pm to 5am.

“If you are on the streets it will be for two reasons: medical emergency or you’re going to work, that’s it,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Monday, according to Fox45 Baltimore.

The city already has a youth curfew in effect for teenagers younger than 14, who must be home by 9pm every night.

And the Baltimore Ravens have decided against holding a draft party scheduled for Thursday.

The Baltimore Orioles have delayed another game against the Chicago White Sox, citing safety concerns. The Orioles delayed a game Monday night due to the protests.

And Johns Hopkins University has canceled classes in the city today and tonight.

Baltimore City schools are closed today, and many school districts surrounding the city have canceled trips to Baltimore, some for the rest of the week.

The Baltimore Orioles are expected to make an announcement about tonight’s game against the Chicago White Sox soon. It’s unclear whether the game will go forward, after it was delayed Monday evening because of the protests.

While many are praising the city cleanup effort undertaken by volunteers citywide, some shops still appear fearful the violence could continue.

Justin George, a Baltimore Sun crime reporter, is referring to reports that many young people looted the Mondawmin Mall after a flyer was circulated on social media calling for a 3pm “purge,” a reference to a film about one lawless night in which crime is legalized.

Here’s a look at how media outlets around the country covered protests in Baltimore.

Updated

Photographs from Monday

A police van burns, set alight during the unrest that followed Freddie Gray’s funeral.
A police van burns, set alight during the unrest that followed Freddie Gray’s funeral on Monday. Photograph: Patrick Semansky/AP
A member of the Nation of Islam stands between protesters and police.
A member of the Nation of Islam stands between protesters and police. Photograph: TNS /Landov / Barcroft Media/TNS /Landov / Barcroft Media
A demonstrater jumps on a damaged Baltimore police department vehicle during clashes in Baltimore on Monday.
A demonstrator jumps on a damaged Baltimore police department vehicle during clashes on Monday. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/REUTERS
A young man reacts after being sprayed with pepper spray by the police.
A young man reacts after being sprayed with pepper spray by the police. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/REUTERS

Baltimore branch president Tessa Hill-Aston says that “rough riding” is a common form of “intimidation” by Baltimore police. Hill-Aston is referring to reports that Freddie Gray was dragged into a police van and driven without being belted in.

“It’s a form of trying to get information,” said Hill-Aston.

Brooks adds that rough riding is “illegal and unconstitutional.”

“The NAACP is not adverse to taking people to court,” said Brooks.

“The NAACP is in this fight to the very end,” said NAACP president Cornell William Brooks, about a push for police reform nationally and in Baltimore.

Let’s be clear when these cameras disappear, when the press conference is over, when the press release has been issued, when the tweets die down, when social media is quieted, the NAACP will do the work. Because that’s who we are. This branch has been in this city for decades, these citizens have been doing this work day in day out.”

Brooks said the satellite office will take complaints, as announced in the NAACP’s press release, as well as provide workforce development and legal services.

Additionally, Brookssaid the NAACP (headquartered in Baltimore) will begin a push in Congress for three specific demands:

  • A requirement that police wear body cameras
  • Pushing for an “end racial profiling act”
  • A shift to community policing

The NAACP’s president and CEO Cornell William Brooks is speaking about the opening of a satellite office in Baltimore’s Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood.

There’s a sense of anger in this community... But the story of NAACP over the course of our 106 years, is that we have frequently moved out of a sense of anger to action.”

“The opening of this satellite office is very much about translating anger into action,” Brooks said. He said the office will provide, “critically needed services at a moment of crisis.”

The NAACP is starting a press conference now – ABC2 is streaming.

Monday evening’s Baltimore Orioles game against the Chicago White Sox was canceled. Many are still waiting to hear whether the team will play the Sox tonight, following the destruction in the city.

Here was Monday’s statement on the game cancellation:

As of right now, the game is expected to be played tonight:

Updated

And the NAACP will open a satellite office in Baltimore’s Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood, an area the Baltimore Sun calls one of the city’s “most-troubled areas.”

The Satellite Office will be open to community members who want to report complaints about cases and incidents of police brutality and racial profiling. The information collected will be provided to help inform the Justice Department’s investigation in patterns and practices of misconduct by the Baltimore Police Department. The National Legal Staff will provide support to the Satellite Office in the form of complaint intake and training/presentations for the community on “Knowing Your Rights,” an NAACP press release said.

Maryland governor Larry Hogan has temporarily moved his office to Baltimore, from the state’s capital in Annapolis.

Updated

The senior center housing, which was slated to soon get a roof, is now a pile of rubble.

Here’s a photo of what the development looked like before Monday.

One of the scenes of greatest destruction was a fire at what was supposed to be a 60-unit affordable housing building for seniors. The complex was burnt to the ground.

The Guardian’s Paul Lewis chronicled the fire last night.

Southern Baptist Church Pastor Donte Hickman was marching with protesters through the evening, trying to maintain peace, when he received a phone call urging him to return to the Chester Street church.

Hickman arrived to find a 60-unit affordable home complex for senior citizens, built by his church, in flames. “This is not the justice that we seek,” he said, walking toward the flames. “This is chaos and confusion. But it is going to work for our good. Because we will rebuild this community.”

Hickman added moments later: “It hurts my heart,” as the magnitude of the fire sank in.

The $16m site took the church eight years to build, and was due to open this year.

Updated

If you want to get a sense of what it was like to be on the streets of Baltimore Monday night, watch this video by the Guardian’s Paul Lewis (@PaulLewis).

This Periscope video was taken by the Guardian’s Paul Lewis, on the ground in Baltimore Monday.

There still appears to be some conflict about how many people were arrested in protests following Freddie Gray’s funeral Monday. More than 200 could have been arrested, according to officials in Baltimore.

Clean-up is beginning where some of the most destruction occurred on Monday evening in Baltimore.

Of the many shops that were looted or damaged, two CVS pharmacies were reportedly burned out.

Updated

Children won’t be attending school this morning in Baltimore.

Some school districts surrounding the city have canceled all transportation in and out of Baltimore. In the case of Anne Arundel County, the superintendent has canceled all transportation into and out of Baltimore through May 3.

“While we hope that the demonstrations remain civil and peaceful, I feel it is in the best interests of our students, staff and parents to keep them away from any potential disturbances,” Anne Arundel County Superintendent George Arlotto said.

Updated

Baltimore’s mayor has called last night’s riots one of the city’s “darkest days”.

Some have criticized Mayor Stephanie C Rawlings-Blake for not being up to the job of leading Baltimore through the crisis.

Maryland governor Larry Hogan indicated on Monday evening that state officials had been trying to get in touch with Rawlings-Blake for “quite some time”.

“She finally made that call, and we immediately took action,” the Associated Press reports. The governor didn’t go so far as to say the mayor waited too long to declare a state of emergency, however.

“They’re all under tremendous stress. We’re all on one team,” Hogan said.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake looks on during a news conference on 26 April.
Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake looks on during a news conference on 26 April. Photograph: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Updated

Here are some specifics about the violence last night. According to mayoral spokesperson Howard Libit, as reported by the Associated Press, there were:

  • At least 15 officers were hurt, including six hospitalized.
  • 144 vehicles set on fire.
  • 15 buildings were set on fire
  • Almost 200 people arrested.

Freddie Gray. Photograph: Courtesy of Murphy, Falcon & Murphy
Freddie Gray. Photograph: Courtesy of Murphy, Falcon & Murphy

Here’s a bit of background on Freddie Gray, for those who might not be familiar with his case.

Protests began last week after Gray, 25, died in hospital on April 19. A week earlier he had sustained a broken neck and an almost-severed spinal cord while in police custody. He reportedly was arrested after “catching the eye” of a lieutenant and running away.

Cellphone footage shows Gray being dragged into a Baltimore police van while yelling in pain. Police said his neck was broken after this point, but did not provide details. Authorities have also said the officers failed to make sure Gray was in his seatbelt, and that he should have been provided medical attention immediately.

Gray’s case is the most recent in a series of police killings, especially of young black men. Protests were also sparked after the failure to indict officers in the deaths of Staten Island man Eric Garner, and of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

Updated

Summary

Good morning, and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the unrest in Baltimore, Maryland, following the death of Freddie Gray.

Residents were sweeping up debris on city streets as dawn broke on Tuesday. Largely peaceful protests following the funeral on Monday of Gray, a black man who died in Baltimore police custody last week, turned violent as the night wore on. Buildings were burned, shops looted and more than a dozen officers injured in clashes. At least two dozen people were arrested.

  • Stores were looted inside the Mondawmin mall, which many identified as the start of the violence.
  • Several fires were set in the city, including in a building that was to be a 60-unit affordable housing development for seniors.
  • Police cars were set on fire, including one an officer was sitting in.

The previous evening, public officials imposed several measures in an attempt to keep the peace in the city:

  • The mayor of Baltimore imposed a weeklong curfew between 10pm and 5am Monday evening.
  • Maryland’s governor also declared a state of emergency and called up 5,000 national guard troops to help maintain order in the city.
  • Police confronted protesters with pepper balls, teargas grenades and “less lethal” bullets.

The Guardian will be live-blogging all the day’s developments, with several reporters on the ground in Baltimore.

Updated

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