Black Lives Matter groups and Defend the Tri vow to stand together against violence
Two Tri-Cities groups that have spent much of the week staring at each other with distrust promised Friday to fight together against fear.
Leaders from Tri-Cities Justice for George Floyd, Jaime and the Justice League and Defend the Tri stood beside Kennewick Police Chief Ken Hohenberg in an hour and a half news conference to talk about weekend protest plans.
Kennewick police met separately with group leaders Wednesday and sat down together Thursday.
“One of the recurring themes that came out of our discussion yesterday was that we all want to stand together to make sure that we stand against violence, we stand against destruction of property and we stand against violence against destruction in and around the Tri-City area,” Hohenberg said.
The full video of the news conference can be seen on the Herald Facebook page.
Tri-Cities Justice For George Floyd and Jaime and the Justice League are organizing protests this weekend in Pasco. The Black Lives Matter groups say they are seeking long-term change through peaceful demonstrations.
They believe one of the biggest threats out there are persistent, and untrue rumors that suggest they were planning for violent escalation.
“These rumors and threats escalate tensions, scare our children and everyone watching how this unfolds, and endangers our peaceful protesters, who are exercising their Constitutional rights and civic duties,” Amber Rodriguez, with Tri-Cities Justice for George Floyd, read from prepared statement.
And Dylan Tafoya, who heads up the Defend the Tri Facebook group, said they only want to protect businesses.
His group formed the day after a planned riot in a Kennewick shopping plaza left three businesses with broken windows and one person arrested Sunday.
“Our sole intention is to deter the destruction of property in our community,” he said. “Protesting is something that we stand by. We encourage protesting.”
The group does not exist outside of keeping an eye on businesses at night, he said.
Tafoya also disavowed a group that has spun off called Defend the Tri Always, as well at the Tri-Cities Militia on Twitter.
Defend the Tri Always is accused of spreading false information including a Tweet that is tied to a white nationalist group and a rumor debunked by Moses Lake police.
Just the start
Everyone agreed the meetings with police leaders were productive. Brandon Jones, a 24-year-old Pasco resident, said that he never thought he would be in a police station talking to the chief willingly.
“We all came here in this room because we all believe in something,” he said. “We gained a further understanding about something we didn’t know about. I feel like if we can do that, we can do anything.”
All of the members of the Black Lives Matters movement at the news conference said the Friday and Saturday events are only the start of a long-term dialogue that will continue. They are already organizing events aimed at sharing stories of how racism has affected people in the community.
“I think that sometimes that people think this is the first time that this community has had a black voice or a minority voice, which is not true,” said Marlando Sparks, a member of Jaime and The Justice League. “We stand on the backs of individuals that have pushed throughout this community for years upon years.”
Sparks believes change is going to take time, and it’s going to be done during the meetings with the chiefs and with the community.
Several people have greeted the protests by asking why they are needed here, said Kennewick Lt. Aaron Clem.
School resource officers and other police officers see extremely racist, sexist and anti-LGBT messages being shared on social media by middle and high school students, he said.
“I’m telling you that this is a nationwide movement,” he said. “We need to make sure that the people here in the Tri-Cities are aware of that as well.”
This story was originally published June 5, 2020 at 4:27 PM.