Trayvon Martin Protests Overtake Times Square In New York City [LIVESTREAM]
Several hundred demonstrators upset by George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the Trayvon Martin murder case in Florida have taken to the streets in New York, marching from lower Manhattan to Times Square to protest both Zimmerman’s acquittal and Martin’s death.
Reports vary on the number of demonstrators currently in Times Square, but most estimates place the numbers between several hundred and a thousand. Judging from live video provided by Vice, the protesters are currently rallying around a central point in Times Square where members pass around a megaphone giving speeches about Martin’s death and leading the crowd in chants such as, “What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now.”
The demonstration began Sunday afternoon in Manhattan’s Union Square, about 30 blocks south of its current location. The International Business Times’ own Connor Adams Sheets was on-site at the Union Square rally, reporting on the Martin protest. The initial rally at Union Square was led by Kevin Powell, president and co-founder of Building Knowledge Nation, a Brooklyn-based activist group, and started with a 30-second moment of silence for Martin. Several other speakers also addressed the crowd.
Soon after the speeches, demonstrators began walking north to Times Square, shouting along the way slogans such as, “This is what democracy looks like.”
By 8:40 p.m. EDT, protesters had reached Times Square, bringing the demonstration to one of New York’s most recognizable locations. Initially, New York Police Department officers reportedly attempted to block protestors from the Times Square streets, but protesters appear to have broken through the barricades.
Accounts of the action have appeared on Twitter, such as the following tweets:
On Saturday, Sanford, Fla., resident George Zimmerman was found not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of teenager Martin last year.
Watch a live stream of the Martin protests in New York below:
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