Superior Residents to Protest George Floyd Murder, Racial Violence Thursday

(Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune via AP)

SUPERIOR, Wis. – Residents in Superior will hold a peaceful protest in the parking lot of the Government Center Thursday afternoon to protest the murder of George Floyd and demand an end to racial violence.

In a recent Facebook post, Mayor Jim Paine said he and Police Chief Nicholas Alexander have been in contact with event organizers and are “confident that this will be a peaceful and productive event.”

The event will take place at 3:00 p.m. Thursday with both Paine and Alexander planning to attend.

Mayor Paine says local businesses do not need to close due to the protest and there will be no curfew imposed on the community.

In addition, the meeting of the Commission on Communities of Color has been moved to next Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Paine ended his post by calling on the community to shut down rumors of today’s protest, saying:

“Finally, please help us shut down some rumors: We don’t have evidence of people coming in from outside the area to cause problems. We don’t have evidence of organized attempts to attack private property or businesses. Most importantly, the people attending today’s event are NOT dangerous. While bad actors can appear in any crowd, they do not represent the event or its organizers. These are our friends and neighbors. Any suggestion that they intend to cause harm to our city is simply false and we should all confront that when we see it.”