A Louisville diner brandished a handgun at armed Black Lives Matter protesters surrounding a restaurant during a demonstration for Breonna Taylor.
The unidentified man is thought to have been eating at upscale French eatery La Chasse on Saturday night when he confronted the group of around 50 protesters.
They had been marching ahead of the 147th Kentucky Derby over Taylor’s death at the hands of police during a raid at her home last March.
Video shows the diner pointing his handgun at the protesters who were arguing with him as one female demonstrator urged the group to keep moving down the block.
Louisville Metro Police spokesperson Alicia Smiley confirmed to Fox News that the protesters were also armed. Kentucky is an open carry state.
At least five people were arrested in connection with the incident. Charges include possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, failure to disperse and evading police, TMZ reported.
The man with his gun drawn does not appear to have been arrested.
The unidentified man is thought to have been eating at upmarket La Chasse on Saturday night when he confronted the group of around 50 people
Footage shows as the diner points his handgun at protesters. A female demonstrator urges the protesters to continue moving down the block. The group argues with the man who stands with his gun drawn
An armed BLM protester argues with the diner as a female demonstrator pleads with them to leave
Smiley, the LMPD spokesperson, said a restaurant worker described ‘multiple armed protesters entered the restaurant property, which included outdoor dining space’.
‘During the encounter both patrons and protesters brandished firearms,’ Smiley said.
‘This incident occurred after the arrests of southbound protesters in the area on the 1500 block of Bardstown Road.
‘The arrests of that group were made after protesters repeatedly blocked the roadway despite officers giving multiple verbal requests for them to utilize the sidewalk.’
A reporter for the Louisville Courier-Journal also confirmed a ‘few protesters’ were armed, adding: ‘It was a very tense few minutes.’
DailyMail.com has contacted Louisville Metro Police for comment.
The Justice Department announced last month that it is opening a sweeping probe into policing in Louisville, Kentucky, over the March 2020 death of Breonna Taylor.
Taylor was shot to death by police during a raid at her home.
The 26-year-old Taylor, an emergency medical technician who had been studying to become a nurse, was roused from her bed by police who came through the door using a battering ram. Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired once.
A no-knock warrant was approved as part of a narcotics investigation. No drugs were found at her home.
Protesters descended upon Maya Taqueria on Tuesday following the Chauvin verdict
Protesters can be seen surrounding the restaurant as they chant together
Last month protesters surrounded and chanted at diners at a Brooklyn taqueria to ‘get the f**k out of New York’ and ‘we don’t want you here’, and blasted the ‘white men’ owners.
That came during a march following the Derek Chauvin verdict.
Video captured nervous diners outside the Maya Taqueria in Prospect Heights, as a man, who appears to be white, led the chant ‘We don’t want your f***ing money. We don’t want your f***ing taqueria… owned by f***ing white men.’
Reporter Nick Pinto shared that the protesters moved north after their stop at Maya Taqueria, chanting, ‘Fire! Fire to the gentrifiers!’
Daniel Nasser, who is cited as the operating manager and owner of Maya Taqueria, grew up in San Francisco before moving to Brooklyn in 2001. His heritage is not clear. However, staff pictures appear to show a mostly BIPOC team.
A staff member at Maya Taqueria told DailyMail.com simply ‘no comment’ when reached.
Taylor was shot dead during a raid on her home. Her death sparked protests around the US
The group had been marching Saturday ahead of the 147th Kentucky Derby over Taylor’s death at the hands of police during a raid at her home last March
A Louisville Metro Police spokesperson said a restaurant worker described ‘multiple armed protesters entered the restaurant property, which included outdoor dining space’
There were at least five arrests Saturday. Charges include possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, failure to disperse and evading police, TMZ reports
And last September Black Lives Matter protesters screamed in the face of white elderly outdoor diners during protests in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Cellphone footage shows the crowd taking over the outdoor dining space with one person even approaching the older couple’s table before drinking their beer in front of them; another smashed a glass from a table.
Before that a diner in Washington D.C. was cornered by a group of anti-racism protesters outside a restaurant.
In June a Saint Louis couple were arrested on felony firearm charges for threatening a group of Black Lives Matter protesters passing by their home.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who are both lawyers, became the target of national media attention after they emerged from their Renaissance palazzo-style mansion in St Louis with guns on the night of June 28 when protesters veered onto their private street.
The couple said the demonstrators knocked down an iron gate and ignored a ‘No Trespassing’ sign, and they felt threatened.
Mark, 63, came out with AR-15 rifle and Patricia, 61, displayed a semiautomatic handgun, according to court records. No shots were fired.
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who are both lawyers, became the target of national media attention after they emerged from their Renaissance palazzo-style mansion in St Louis with guns on the night of June 28 when protesters veered onto their private street