Peaceful Protest, March Held in Paducah

The original rally for solidarity scheduled for Sunday afternoon was postponed by its leadership, but a different group decided to have a protest at the same location. 

A crowd of at least several hundred people gathered along Park Avenue at Noble Park near the Wacinton carving just west of the Robert Cherry Civic Center, for the protest against racism. Many carried signs reading, "Black Lives Matter," and "I Can't Breathe," or calling for justice for the victim's families.

The 5 pm gathering was attended by a diverse crowd, both young and old, including children, and was peaceful. Names were read of black people who have recently been killed in high-profile cases that involved police officers. Those names included George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others. 

The group then spilled out onto Park Avenue, marching to the Martin Luther King, Jr. statue. Paducah Police stopped traffic so the march could continue. 

At some point, most turned around to return to the park, but others reportedly splintered off in other directions.

About 9 pm, several people were live streaming on Facebook, showing people acting out in the parking lot of Kentucky Oaks Mall, doing burnouts and donuts with their vehicles, and loitering around. Police later responded to the area after glass was broken at the front entrance and near the entrance to Five Below.

It's not known if any of the people who caused damage were also at the peaceful protest and march. However, one man on Facebook who attended the protest came to the mall to speak against those who damaged the mall, saying the vandals had undone any progress made by the march.