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Thursday morning protest aimed to disrupt Downtown Austin traffic, 'bankrupt' APD

The protest began at 8 a.m.

AUSTIN, Texas — As the Austin City Council was set to vote on police reform Thursday, a protest began in the morning hours with the hopes of disrupting Downtown Austin traffic and the Austin Police Department itself.

"Wakey Wakey: A Disruption" is described as the first in a series of "upcoming disruptions" in regard to the defunding and abolition of the APD. 

"One of our goals is to ultimately bankrupt APD by making sure their resources are being spread thinner and thinner," organizers said. "We’d also like to disrupt the flow of morning traffic."

It consisted of two pieces.

A "radical reading circle" happened at the intersection of West Sixth Street and North Lamar Boulevard, where excerpts from radical texts were read aloud. At the same time, organizers held a "cumbia circle" at the intersection of West Riverside and South Lamar, where protesters danced to show their support for black lives. Members of the cumbia circle then marched toward the reading circle.

“There are a lot of black organizers who have been putting in work for years and decades," organizer Leslie Lozano said. "We want to also put in some work for you all."

Shortly after 8 a.m., police were working to move protesters out of the intersection at North Lamar and West Sixth.

Some protesters eventually moved to City Hall, blocking roads along East Cesar Chavez Street.

The protest was slated to last three hours.

For more information about the protest, click here.

Protesters close down 6th St and North Lamar Blvd. APD asks that you please avoid the area. DETAILS: https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/wakey-wakey-austin-police-protest/269-d8b2ebb7-1ffc-4686-8d39-ed0b6b5aac7f

Posted by KVUE on Thursday, June 11, 2020

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