SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ As the uproar over the Stephon Clark case intensified, an activist group called The Table Sacramento marched Monday evening through East Sacramento, saying it chose the leafy neighborhood because of its wealthy residents.
A crowd of about 70 people assembled at Trader Joe's supermarket on Folsom Boulevard around 6:30 p.m. and began marching about 15 minutes later, chanting, "Whose street? Our street? The people united will never be divided!"
Neighboring businesses such as The Other Side restaurant and taproom, Incredible Pets and Face & Body Emporium closed early to avoid the crowd. Police assembled outside the grocery store at 5 p.m., and blocked Folsom Boulevard traffic as the march began.
"The East Sacramento location was chosen because it is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city of Sacramento and home to many influential leaders in city and state government," The Table Sacramento announced.
Some neighbors came out of their houses to watch as the marchers went by, including Dylan Holcomb, who walked over to Trader Joe's after finding about the protest on Twitter. His 4-year-old daughter Eloise perched atop his shoulders, Holcomb said he didn't have a problem with the protesters gathering in the perpetually crowded Trader Joe's parking lot.
"I support any peaceful protest by citizens of Sacramento," Holcomb said.
Adrian Mohammed, a spokesman for the group, said the marchers weren't expected to head to Golden 1 Center, where the Sacramento Kings were set to play the New York Knicks on Monday night.
Crews began installing fencing around the plaza surrounding the arena Monday morning in anticipation of possible protests; marchers blocked the main entrance to Golden 1 during two games right after Clark's shooting last March, preventing thousands of fans from entering. The Kings said the plaza would be open only to fans holding tickets.
District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said Saturday she wouldn't file charges against the two police officers who killed Clark, an unarmed black man. A demonstration was held that afternoon outside main police headquarters, and on Sunday Arden Fair mall was closed all day after a small group of protestors began a sit-in at the mall. The mall's owners said they were afraid the protest would grow too large for the mall to handle safely.
The protests were set to continue Tuesday, this time at the main police station on Freeport Boulevard.
Black Lives Matter Sacramento, in a Facebook post Monday, urged followers to "occupy the police station!" The posting said similar protests would also be held Wednesday and Thursday at the Freeport location.
"We will probably go inside until they kick us out," said Sonia Lewis, an organizer with Black Lives Matter. "It is a public place." She said the group staged a protest inside police headquarters last May.
Police spokesman Marcus Basquez said protestors would be allowed inside "to a point."
"If it's peaceful, fine," he said. "If property becomes destroyed or lives become endangered, that's a whole other topic." He said the department has additional police officers deployed "if anything flares up."
