Prominent Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson was among more than 100 protesters arrested Saturday night during demonstrations over the death of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Mckesson, who live-streamed his arrest on Periscope, was taken into custody while walking along the side of the Airline Highway with fellow protesters.
Hundreds of protesters angry over Sterling’s death at the hands of two white officers took to the streets again Saturday, calling for justice in an often-tense evening that saw police arrest a number of demonstrators.
Shouting “No justice! No peace!” roughly 1,000 protesters gathered outside the Baton Rouge Police Department, waving homemade signs as passing cars honked their support. The protests lasted well into the evening but died down a little after midnight.
It was not immediately clear whether police had charged Mckesson, one of the most recognizable faces to emerge from the Black Lives Matter movement.
There were 101 arrests during Saturday’s protests in Baton Rouge, officials said, while around 100 were arrested in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
The former educator built a national following after he left his then-home and job in Minneapolis in August 2014 for Ferguson, Missouri, to document the rising anger over race relations after the police shooting of Michael Brown.
“The police have been provocateurs all night. The protesters have been solid,” Mckesson said in the video just minutes before his arrest.
“The police in Baton Rouge have been truly awful tonight. They’ve provoked people. They’ve chased people just for kicks,” he added.
A police officer appears to tell Mckesson, who was walking on the shoulder of the road, that he’d been “flagged” for walking on the highway.
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SOURCE: NBC News / AP – Matthew Grimson
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