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More than 450 people assembled at Gough Park on Thursday evening for a Black Lives Matter demonstration in memory of George Floyd, the Minneapolis man killed in police custody last week. The event began with a prayer and speeches from the gazebo, after which the crowd moved to the west side of the park, lining up alongside Pope Street with signs, and kneeling and chanting.(Press Staff Photo byDean Thompson)

By The Daily Press Staff

Chants of I cant breathe! and Say their names! reverberated through a crowd of at least 400 gathered at Gough Park on Thursday evening, as protesters honored the life of George Floyd, the Minneapolis man killed in police custody last week.

The Silver City protest follows many other marches and protests nationwide in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Floyds death at the hands of police reenergized many groups across the country, which, in the wake of the deaths of Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, has seen many communities rise up in protest of discrimination. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Thursday that more than 500 protests had taken place just in New Mexico.

The group began to assemble at the park around 6 p.m., when the organizers spoke briefly to the crowd and led a prayer for those who have fallen victim to police brutality. Organizers encouraged attendees to protest peacefully before the crowd made their way to line the sidewalk of Pope Street.

Las Cruces-based boxer Austin Trout was in the park Thursday for the protest, and lauded the rural turnout for social justice.

For a smaller town, this is a great turnout, Trout said. We really packed this park and by we, I mean you guys. We really packed this park, and I was proud to be a part of it. I am so happy that the community came out to show support for this national movement.

A small group of personnel from the Silver City Police Department and the Grant County Sheriffs Department kept a watchful eye over the event to ensure that all participants and onlookers remained safe. Sheriff Frank Gomez said that event organizers had asked him to attend in order to keep the peace.

I was happy to do it, Gomez said. I called up [Silver City Police] Chief Fred Portillo, and he had already heard about it. We both put together a group of guys to come out and make sure everyone stays safe.

Continuing to chant, hold up power fists, and wave homemade signs, the group garnered honks of support from passing vehicles.

After about an hour of protest along Pope Street, protesters moved to their vehicles to engage in a memorial drive. A rainbow of cars lined Pope Street and all the way down Bullard Street, with protesters holding signs out of windows and standing in truck beds. The cacophony of car horns and chanting echoed throughout downtown. By 9 p.m., most of the crowd had dispersed.

Despite posts to the contrary on social media throughout the day Thursday, the Gough Park protest looked to be almost entirely made up of participants from the area. An advertised counterprotest didnt materialize, but a few men in cowboy hats watched the demonstrators from a distance.

I was going to go ask the promoter of the protest if I could walk with them, a man who had a sidearm on his hip said. I support their First Amendment. I also support my Second Amendment. I fully support them and their cause, as long as they dont try to break windows or get violent. We may not fully agree with each other on everything, but I was willing to walk with them in support of their First Amendment.

Portillo said organizers plan to hold another protest in Gough Park today at 4 p.m.

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Peace breaks out at protest as hundreds line Pope Street - Silver City Daily Press and Independent