GWAR BAR: "So now they are literally on our doorstep and arresting people at random."

 GWAR BAR, the bar/restaurant owned by members of GWAR are having an altercation with police at their doorstep.  

 

https://richmond.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/two-arrested-outside-richmonds-gwarbar-after-online-flyer-threatened-violence-witnesses-say-police-were-unprovoked/article_34aeb889-4517-5f66-996a-75fbe725ba06.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_Richmond_Times-Dispatch&fbclid=IwAR2Ti-pvr9q-nKgNvNf_6v0KPHG-zDZbJHVoz-JNJZjzVHBJJqL5ISBbBpo

 

 

 FROM RVA MAGAZINE: 

EARLIER: Richmond, VA • Violent encounter with Richmond Police Department • Tonight outside of GWAR Bar Richmond Police Officers violently engage individuals on the sidewalk • A protest meet-up was announced for this location earlier in the day • Watch the extended video in our IGTV • This video was taken by Richmond photographer @swampdaddyx (on Twitter) ▪️▫️▪️▫️
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#policeviolence #policebrutality #policereform #policeaccountability #rvaphotographer #richmondphotographer #virginia #richmondva #richmond #blm #acab #rva

 

  FROM Pustulus Maximus (GWAR):

So now they are literally on our doorstep and arresting people at random. The whole system is corrupt and a fascist state is revealing itself right before your eyes. https://t.co/PEpzMbZnnf

— Pustulus Maximus (@pustulus) August 21, 2020

 

 FROM GWARBAR: 

About last night,

As a business owner I have struggled to stay neutral as the world goes insane around me. It is not GWARbar's place to choose a side in the heated discourse that is ripping at the very fabric of our society, but last night I was reluctantly thrust onto the frontline of these struggles. A mysterious flyer appeared that seemed to be a call to action for protesters to gather at the GWARbar. Friends with contacts in the movement told me that it was not created or sponsored by BLM and they feared that it was some other group trying to co-op the movement to stir up mayhem. The bar started to receive phone calls. Some of them warned that protesters planned to vandalize the bar. This didn't ring true to me as in our 5 years in Jackson Ward we have made strong connections with the community and have felt nothing but goodwill from our neighbors. We also received calls telling us that the police were planning to use tear gas and arrest everyone in the street. Counsil-woman Gray called the bar and asked us to close and put up "no trespassing" sign so that the police could protect the restaurant. My staff was understandably freaked out, so I came in and took over for my manager and sent everyone else home. I made the decision to keep the bar open partly because I did not believe that we were in danger, but also because if I was wrong, an open establishment with happy patrons is a much less inviting target for vandals than a shuttered building with threatening signs. The night was pretty quiet except for the constant stream of police vehicles circling the block. At 10 o'clock a few people started to gather in the parking lot. They appeared calm and peaceful to me.
Here is where I made a choice that some will see as heroic and others will call traitorous. I told the small group gathered there that I was the owner of the property and they had my permission to be there and asked them to come tell me if they were told they were trespassing. I simply didn't want to see this become one of those situations that we've all been seeing too often where people are arrested for seemingly no reason. I foolishly thought that I could act as an intermediary and be the voice of reason between the police and protesters. When the police advanced on the small crowd I came out to try and speak with them. The police said that they would need to see identification from everyone on the property and when the first person refused to produce ID, they were thrown to the ground and arrested. I asked to speak to the officer in charge, as owner of the property I wanted to be told what their reasoning was for coming on the property and arresting people. I was told that they were obstructing justice but the Captain on the scene did not ever come speak with me even after I requested several times. The crowd responded to these first arrests in exactly the manner I was trying to avoid, by yelling at the police and becoming agitated. At this point, there seemed to be very little I could do to defuse the situation. After several hours and several more arrests the police withdrew and things calmed down again.
I spoke with Kim Gray this morning and I understand her frustration. She told me of the harassment she and her family have suffered over the past few months and I am very sympathetic to her situation. I do not condone this harassment and I do not condone vandalism, but I do support free speech with all of my heart. I understand how Ms Gray feels betrayed by my decision not to close my restaurant but I can not know what people do when they are not at my establishment. I can only influence what they do when they are there and I will not allow people to be discriminated against while they are here, whether it be for the color of their skin, their sexual orientation or even the way they dress. It is not my job to comment on how people live their lives when they are not at the GWARbar, it is only to give them a welcoming and enjoyable place to eat, drink, and escape the horrors of a world turned upside down.

Michael Derks

 

Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l-