George Floyd protests in Wyoming
{{short description|2020 civil unrest after the murder of George Floyd}}
{{use mdy dates |date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox civil conflict
| title = George Floyd protests in Wyoming
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| partof = George Floyd protests
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| date = May 29 – June 2020
({{Age in years, months, weeks and days |2020|05|29|2020|06|30}})
| place = Wyoming, United States
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| causes = *Police brutality
- Institutional racism against African Americans{{cite web|title=US surgeon general says 'there is no easy prescription to heal our nation'|url=https://edition.cnn.com/us/live-news/george-floyd-protests-05-30-20#h_27ad9fc2045f3cdccdc3aa7800e964a7|last=Robertson|first=Nicky|date=May 30, 2020|website=CNN|language=en|access-date=May 30, 2020|archive-date=June 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601152647/https://edition.cnn.com/us/live-news/george-floyd-protests-05-30-20/h_27ad9fc2045f3cdccdc3aa7800e964a7|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Goldberg |first1=Michelle |title=Opinion - America Is a Tinderbox |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/29/opinion/george-floyd-protests-minneapolis.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=May 30, 2020 |date=May 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530044312/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/29/opinion/george-floyd-protests-minneapolis.html |archive-date=May 30, 2020 |url-status=live }}
- Reaction to the murder of George Floyd
- Economic, racial and social inequality
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This is a list of protests in the U.S. State of Wyoming related to the murder of George Floyd, an African-American man killed by a white police officer.
Wyoming's population is 93.2% White alone and 1.2% Black alone.{{cite web |title=Quick Facts: Wyoming |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/WY/PST045224 |website=United States Census Bureau |access-date=9 February 2025 |archive-date=February 8, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250208024048/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/WY/PST045224 |url-status=live }} Protests were organized by African-Americans, European-Americans and Native Americans.
Locations
{{George Floyd protests map|width=325|height=300|zoom=6|coords={{coord|43|-107.6}}|text=Cities in Wyoming that held a protest with approximately 100 or more participants |jurisdiction=Wyoming}}
= Casper =
On June 3, Casper police counted 300 protesters who marched peacefully through downtown Casper.{{cite news |last1=Hughes |first1=Morgan |last2=Klamann |first2=Seth |last3=Sanderson |first3=Shane |title=Hundreds march through Casper to protest Floyd death |url=https://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/news/wyoming/article_5d34aa91-4be2-5500-9b97-a80fd5814e73.html |access-date=9 February 2025 |work=Gillette News Record |date=4 June 2020}} A splinter group, organized by Our Resistance Casper, continued a silent march against police brutality to the Dick Cheney Federal Building. Their silence was broken by applause, chantings, and series. The march remained peaceful even through other individuals carrying firearms gathered throughout downtown, including a group to 12 white individuals led by Dan Sabrosky who brought his AR-15 to "protect the First Amendment rights of the protesters," as Sabrosky said. Independent, secondary protests continued after the initial protest ended.
= Cheyenne =
On Friday evening, May 29, about 125 protesters attended a candlelight vigil in Cheyenne near the steps of the State Capitol.{{cite news |last1=Austin |first1=Margaret |title='Inexcusable:' Candlelight vigil remembers George Floyd's death |url=https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/inexcusable-candlelight-vigil-remembers-george-floyds-death/article_186eecd7-bfe9-59d9-bb44-48c92e49bf9a.html |access-date=June 1, 2020 |work=Wyoming Tribune Eagle |date=May 30, 2020 |archive-date=June 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601232016/https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/inexcusable-candlelight-vigil-remembers-george-floyds-death/article_186eecd7-bfe9-59d9-bb44-48c92e49bf9a.html |url-status=live }} Additional protests were held on May 30 and 31.{{cite web |url=https://www.wyomingnewsnow.tv/content/news/two-peaceful-protests-in-downtown-cheyenne-amid-national-riots-570907701.html |title=Two peaceful protests in downtown Cheyenne amid national riots |website=WyomingNewsNow |date=May 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601231938/https://www.wyomingnewsnow.tv/content/news/two-peaceful-protests-in-downtown-cheyenne-amid-national-riots-570907701.html |access-date=22 January 2025 |archive-date=June 1, 2020 |url-status=live }}
= Cody =
On June 7, hundreds of protesters gathered in City Park, where they were surrounded by armed ex-police and military officers, but with no active police presence. The protesters held a moment of silence to honor George Floyd before marching peacefully around the park.{{cite web |url=https://www.kulr8.com/news/hundreds-gather-in-cody-for-black-lives-matter-rally/article_55ac8706-a91c-11ea-9382-abeb64819f42.html |title=Hundreds gather in Cody for Black Lives Matter rally |work=KULR-TV |date=June 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612002316/https://www.kulr8.com/news/hundreds-gather-in-cody-for-black-lives-matter-rally/article_55ac8706-a91c-11ea-9382-abeb64819f42.html |url-status=live |access-date=June 12, 2020|archive-date=June 12, 2020 }}
= Gillette =
Approximately 50 people held a protest in Gillette on June 2. The Black Lives Matter protests were met with an "All Lives Matter" counterprotest.{{cite news |last1=Hasman |first1=Gregory |title=A tale of two protests |url=https://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/news/local/article_b797db0c-d249-5fe0-8aa9-12f61db76376.html |access-date=13 February 2025 |work=Gillette News Record |date=4 June 2020 |archive-date=July 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704061128/https://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/news/local/article_b797db0c-d249-5fe0-8aa9-12f61db76376.html |url-status=live }} Local law enforcement including a SWAT team accompanied both protests who marched from Campbell County Courthouse and a local park on a 4.5-mile loop. The protesters, counterprotesters, and police were all nonviolent.
= Jackson =
More than 150 people protested peacefully at Town Square on May 31, 2020,{{cite web|url=https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/jackson_hole_daily/local/town-square-gathering-mirrors-national-protests-of-george-floyd-killing/article_3b25685c-bb48-575c-bea0-75873a307ebe.html|title=Town Square gathering mirrors national protests of George Floyd killing|first=Tom|last=Hallberg|website=Jackson Hole News&Guide|date=May 31, 2020|access-date=June 14, 2020|archive-date=February 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216211504/https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/jackson_hole_daily/local/town-square-gathering-mirrors-national-protests-of-george-floyd-killing/article_3b25685c-bb48-575c-bea0-75873a307ebe.html|url-status=live}} with less than a 24-hour notice.{{cite news |last1=Gore |first1=Jacob |title=Protesters gather at Town Square following police brutality protests across the country |url=https://buckrail.com/protesters-gather-at-town-square-following-police-brutality-protests-across-the-country/ |access-date=9 February 2025 |work=Buckrail |date=31 May 2020 |archive-date=December 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241220011241/https://buckrail.com/protesters-gather-at-town-square-following-police-brutality-protests-across-the-country/ |url-status=live }} Luke Zender helped organize the Jackson protest and felt "as white-bodied individuals we have to take responsibility for the actions of our collective race."{{cite news |last1=Hallberg |first1=Tom |title=Jackson Town Square rally protests Floyd's death |url=https://www.wyomingnews.com/rocketminer/news/national/jackson-town-square-rally-protests-floyds-death/article_b037ce1b-fd57-5e79-8960-3c02d1275ff1.html |access-date=9 February 2025 |work=Rocket Miner |date=1 June 2020}} The protesters chanted and then kneeled in a minute of silence to honor the memory of George Floyd and others harmed by police brutality. The three-hour event remained peaceful despite some voiced opposition.
= Laramie =
In Laramie, protests responding to George Floyd's murder took place nightly for a span of three weeks.{{cite news |last1=Graham |first1=Andrew |title=Anatomy of a protest: How a Laramie march became a movement |url=https://wyofile.com/anatomy-of-a-protest-how-a-laramie-march-became-a-movement/ |access-date=9 February 2025 |work=WyoFile |date=21 July 2020 |archive-date=July 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240728095156/https://wyofile.com/anatomy-of-a-protest-how-a-laramie-march-became-a-movement/ |url-status=live }} Billy Harris organized the first march downtown for June 2, 2022. An estimated 100 to 200 protesters marched through Laramie on June 2.{{cite web|url=https://www.wyomingbusinessreport.com/industry_news/government_and_politics/laramie-gillette-rock-springs-see-protests-over-floyd-death/article_44bda9a6-a5b2-11ea-aaa2-e742ab7a8a6e.html|title=Laramie, Gillette, Rock Springs see protests over Floyd death|first1=Andrea|last1=Novotny|first2=Gregory|last2=Hasman|first3=Chase|last3=Galley|website=Wyoming Business Report|date=June 3, 2020|access-date=June 3, 2020|archive-date=June 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604150207/https://www.wyomingbusinessreport.com/industry_news/government_and_politics/laramie-gillette-rock-springs-see-protests-over-floyd-death/article_44bda9a6-a5b2-11ea-aaa2-e742ab7a8a6e.html|url-status=live}}
Meanwhile, initially questioning the effectiveness of marching, Timberly Vogel raised funds for Black causes. However, Vogel, Harris, and others joined forces for a sustained series of protests. By June 4, hundreds of protesters, possibly numbering more than 1,000, walked the streets of downtown Laramie.{{cite web|url=https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/hundreds-gather-laramie-protest-police-brutality#stream/0|title=Hundreds Gather In Laramie To Protest Police Brutality|first=Maggie|last=Mullen|website=Wyoming Public Media|date=June 4, 2020|access-date=June 4, 2020|archive-date=June 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605001102/https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/hundreds-gather-laramie-protest-police-brutality#stream/0|url-status=live}} University of Wyoming football coach Craig Bohl even joined in one protest.
The protests highlighted other police killings, including Robbie Ramirez, an unarmed Laramie resident shot in the back and killed by the Albany County Sheriff’s Deputy Derek Colling in 2018.{{cite news |last1=McFarland |first1=Clair |title=Albany County Paid $1.2 Million To Family Of Man Killed By Deputy |url=https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/01/19/albany-county-paid-1-2-million-to-family-of-man-killed-by-deputy/ |access-date=9 February 2025 |work=Cowboy State Daily |date=19 January 2024 |archive-date=October 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241013230621/https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/01/19/albany-county-paid-1-2-million-to-family-of-man-killed-by-deputy/ |url-status=live }} The protests evolved to blocking traffic and supporting efforts for a grassroots organization Albany County for Proper Policing (ACOPP) seeking justice in the Ramirez case. CNN wrote, "The public outrage over Ramirez’s death further fueled protests in Wyoming last summer amid nationwide demonstrations against police brutality and racial injustice following the killing of George Floyd." Albany County Sheriff Dave O’Malley retired preceding Ramirez's mother filing a successful lawsuit against the department, and the Albany County Board of Commissioners appointed Wyoming's first Black sheriff, Aaron Appelhans, on December 11, 2020.{{cite news |last1=Tucker |first1=Emma |title=The first Black sheriff in Wyoming takes over an agency that has faced significant controversy |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/20/us/wyoming-black-sheriff-trnd/index.html |access-date=9 February 2025 |work=CNN |date=20 February 2021 |archive-date=February 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227195020/https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/20/us/wyoming-black-sheriff-trnd/index.html |url-status=live }}
= Riverton =
The small town of Riverton on the Wind River Indian Reservation held an early protest against George Floyd's killing at Riverton City Park.{{cite news |last1=Maher |first1=Savannah |title="We Have To Be The Peaceful Ones:" Riverton's Evolving Activism Tradition |url=https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/open-spaces/2020-07-31/we-have-to-be-the-peaceful-ones-rivertons-evolving-activism-tradition |access-date=9 February 2025 |work=Wyoming Public Rado |date=31 July 2020 |archive-date=July 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714110859/https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/open-spaces/2020-07-31/we-have-to-be-the-peaceful-ones-rivertons-evolving-activism-tradition |url-status=live }} About 150 protesters gathered at a park on June 1.{{cite web|url=https://trib.com/news/local/casper/the-latest-protests-in-wyoming/article_d0cf8453-a7ae-5683-8d5c-3c92c10ae7ae.html |url-status=live |title=The latest: Protests in Wyoming|website=Casper Star Tribune|date=June 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306144758/https://trib.com/news/local/casper/the-latest-protests-in-wyoming/article_d0cf8453-a7ae-5683-8d5c-3c92c10ae7ae.html |access-date=June 3, 2020|archive-date=March 6, 2021 }} The organizers including Northern Arapaho youth, such as Micah Lott, who had also participated in the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. These Native American youth had previously protested a proposed white supremacist group in Riverton in 2003, and since then a local Native school's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day walk has provided a model for peaceful public protest for the community.
= Rock Springs =
About 10 people protested peacefully on Dewar Drive on June 2.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sweetwaternow.com/peaceful-protest-for-george-floyd-and-police-start-in-rock-springs/ |url-status=live |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=sweetwaternow.com |title=Peaceful Protest for George Floyd and Police Start in Rock Springs|first=Stephanie|last=Thompson|date=June 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604080550/https://www.sweetwaternow.com/peaceful-protest-for-george-floyd-and-police-start-in-rock-springs/ |archive-date=June 4, 2020 }}{{Cite web|url=https://torringtontelegram.com/article/laramie-gillette-rock-springs-see-protests-over-floyd-death|title=Laramie, Gillette, Rock Springs see protests over Floyd death|website=The Torrington Telegram|date=June 3, 2020|access-date=June 14, 2020|archive-date=June 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604080550/https://torringtontelegram.com/article/laramie-gillette-rock-springs-see-protests-over-floyd-death|url-status=live}} One protester admitted he thought he would be pelted with eggs, but stated that people had been honking their horns or waving their hands to show support.{{r|rocksprings.now}} One protester, however, stated that there was some resistance and that they were followed after they were done protesting.{{r|rocksprings.telegram}} On the other side of the street, near the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce, another protest began with protesters holding signs saying "All Lives Matter" and "Support Our Police."{{r|rocksprings.now}}
= Sheridan =
On June 5, an estimated 500 to 600 people peacefully marched from the Sheridan County Fulmer Public Library to the Sheridan County Courthouse and back in support of Black Lives Matter.{{cite news |last1=Darrow |first1=Allayana |title=Protesters march for justice |url=https://www.wyomingnews.com/rocketminer/news/state/protesters-march-for-justice/article_7d84398c-ed99-5542-b7b9-58ff40a0a383.html |access-date=15 June 2020 |work=Rocket Miner |agency=Wyoming News Exchange |date=15 June 2020}} The Sheridan Police Department monitored the entire protest, but no violence occurred.{{cite news |last1=Darrow |first1=Allyana |title=500 rally in Sheridan against racism |url=https://trib.com/news/state-regional/500-rally-in-sheridan-against-racism/article_2de872e3-0b67-5604-8974-f44e4747ce97.html |access-date=9 February 2025 |work=Casper Star Tribune |date=8 June 2020}} There was some animosity with some counter-protesters,{{cite web|url=https://www.thesheridanpress.com/news/local/black-lives-matter-peaceful-march-down-main-street/article_c33e81dc-28cb-5dfa-b112-7f9a952013b3.html|title=Black Lives Matter: Peaceful march down Main Street|publisher=The Sheridan Press|date=June 5, 2020|access-date=June 14, 2020|archive-date=June 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614010915/https://www.thesheridanpress.com/news/local/black-lives-matter-peaceful-march-down-main-street/article_c33e81dc-28cb-5dfa-b112-7f9a952013b3.html|url-status=live}} who shouted "Trump 2020" in response to the chant, "Wyoming is love." Non-protesters stood by with weapons such as rifles and bows and arrows in case of violence.
References
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{{George Floyd protests}}