Armed White Residents Stare Down Peaceful Black Lives Matter Protesters In Indiana

A disturbing video taken in Crown Point, Indiana depicts a long line of armed, white residents staring down what was reportedly a peaceful protest. The protesters, which consisted of a group of college students of different races, walked quietly while holding signs in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, according to TMZ.

The video began circulating online on Saturday, June 6 and has now gone viral, sparking controversy. The group of young protesters in the video had just finished marching in the city and were reportedly encouraged by law enforcement to take a back alley bike path back to their vehicles. The purpose of this was to avoid a potentially rowdier crowd. It was while they were making their way back that they came across the line of residents, many of whom brandished weapons in an apparently intimidating display.

At one point in the video, a young man — who has been identified as Cedric Caschetta — turned while walking so his face became visible on camera. His sign read in black letters, “My life matters.”

Caschetta said that the police escorted them through the crowd until they reached their vehicles.

As concerning as this video might be, it is legal to openly carry a weapon in the state of Indiana. Police Chief Peter Land was able to confirm that the residents had been looked into by officers and it was determined that they had done nothing wrong.

“You can carry a shotgun without a permit. If you carry a handgun, you need a permit to carry. As long as they didn’t point their rifles at anyone, it’s legal to carry,” he said, according to ABC News 7.

Amaya Butler of Black Lives Matter Northwest Indiana was one of the young people who was participating in the peaceful protest.

“They were just trying to stand there and intimidate us. We were very peaceful,” she recalled of the incident with the white residents.

Myjae Armstrong, another one of the peaceful protesters, recalled the sadness she felt while walking past the line of armed residents.

“It was very heartbreaking. I felt shut out of my own community,” she said.

As The Inquisitr previously reported, protests across the nation and in countries all over the world have erupted as a result of the death of George Floyd. Floyd was an African American man who was detained and later died while in the custody of Minneapolis, Minnesota police. Four former police officers have since been arrested and charged in connection with his death.