The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) had their hands full on Saturday night while arresting eight people after a riot broke out during an Eritrean cultural event.
The riot began when two rival Eritrean gangs clashed over human rights issues, leading to a 10-hour “protest and standoff.”
Monroe Road is currently shut down between McAlway Drive and Alliance Drive as CMPD monitors an unlawful protest on private property. As many as 200 individuals are taking part in a civil rights protest over a cultural festival. Dispersal orders have been given and any protesters…
— CMPD News (@CMPD) February 17, 2024
According to a press release from the CMPD, the incident occurred around 11:30 a.m., when the CMPD’s Providence Division was called to “an unlawful protest happening in the parking lot of a business hosting an Eritrean cultural event.”
CMPD Bike Unit officers were trying to remove protestors from the street around 3 p.m. when protestors decided to ignore the officers’ commands.
According to the press release, protestors “pushed back” and were throwing items at the officers, who were forced to use pepper spray to try and restore order. Several officers and protestors were treated for pepper spray-related injuries on the scene.
At this time, one female protestor physically attacked a police officer. She was carrying a weapon at the time of the incident, which police seized.
She was charged with inciting to riot, failure to disperse, injury to personal property and assault on a government official, according to Fox News.
All eight suspects were charged with impeding traffic and failure to disperse.
The madness didn’t end there. Around 6:30 p.m., protestors began blocking the entrance to the private business where the event was held, prompting officers to disperse the crowd.
Around 7:20 p.m., the CMPD’s Civil Emergency Unit was deployed, where officers were met with hostility.
“Over the course of several hours, the CEU gave multiple dispersal orders in English and Spanish and were again met with violence from protesters wielding sticks, rocks and other items,” the press release read.
North Carolina is just one place that had an issue with Eritrean rioters on Saturday. In the Netherlands, a similar riot occurred when two groups of Eritrean immigrants broke into The Hague Opera House, attacking police officers and setting fire to police vehicles.
Parts of The Hague, Netherlands were set on fire by warring African migrants from Eritrea who attacked each another and police. pic.twitter.com/J0arCB9mtA
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) February 18, 2024
The violence has been breaking out worldwide, especially in Europe. In Germany, at least 26 police officers were injured last September at an Eritrean cultural festival in Stuttgart.
