Protestors who gathered outside the Madison County Circuit Court in Edwardsville on Sunday are being commended for voicing their concerns peacefully and cleaning up after themselves before dispersing quietly without causing damage.
Madison County Chief Judge William Mudge said he supports Madison County citizens’ right to peacefully assemble and was grateful the demonstration remained that way.
“After watching the national news and seeing that 26 states have called for the National Guard and the protest is now a worldwide protest, popping up in numerous countries, I was happy to see that the expression of free speech in Madison County was peaceful,” Mudge said.
Major Mike Fillback of the Edwardsville Police Department said the department encourages people to voice their First Amendment right to free speech and “truly appreciates” that protestors did so peacefully.
“We were appreciative of that and the fact that everybody made it home safe," he said.
He explained that no arrests were made, and there was no damage to their knowledge.
Fillback added that the protestors appear to have cleaned up after the gathering.
“They voiced their concerns and did so in a respectful manner,” he said.
Mudge commended the officers for handling the event “extraordinarily well.”
“I think our local police did a wonderful job,” he said. “They kept their presence at a minimum so they wouldn’t make themselves a point of attack.”
Mudge said police officers are serving the community while battling coronavirus and have now been called upon to ensure people are able to make their voices heard while no one gets hurt.
The Edwardsville protest was in response to the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man. Floyd was arrested on May 25 in Minneapolis after he was accused by a deli employee of buying cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. Video shows an officer subduing Floyd by putting his knee into Floyd’s neck. Floyd can be heard telling officers he could not breathe.
Mudge said he hopes demonstrations remain peaceful and are not “hijacked” by violence, as violence “seems to destroy the message.”
“That’s the most effective expression of protest in my mind,” he said. “We have to stop hurting each other. That goes both ways, of course. Looting and rioting and burning buildings down and setting cars on fire, that seems, to me, to be feeding into keeping things the same and not affecting change.”
Mudge encourages people to follow through with their call for change by voting.
“One of the most effective means of change is … having your voice heard in the ballot box,” he said.
“When I see largely young people protesting and assembling, one of the questions I have is I wonder how many of these folks vote,” he added. “Because statistically, they don’t.”
According to 2018 election data, voter turnout increased since the 2014 election, but turnout for people 18-29 years old was 35.6 percent versus 66.1 percent turnout for people 65 years old and older.