TN Crews Respond to Courthouse Blaze Started by Protesters

A fire was started at a Tennessee criminal courthouse Saturday in another example of an earlier demonstration in response to the Memorial Day death George Floyd in Minneapolis escalating to a destructive point.

Flames were seen first coming from the first floor of the Metro Courthouse in Nashville shortly before 8:15 p.m., The Tennessean reports. Earlier in the day, thousands of demonstrators had gathered near the Capitol building, one of the many rallies held around the country to protest racism and police brutality.

Editor's Note: Video contains vulgar language. 

By nightfall, dozens of people marched on the courthouse, which is also City Hall, smashing windows and causing other damage. Shortly after the fire could be seen burning inside through a first-floor window, police in riot gear fired tear gas into the protesters.

Firefighters were called in to put out the blaze.

“After the arson and vandalism at the courthouse, this has taken on a much different response,” Don Aaron, a police spokesman, told The Tennessean. “Those who continue to harm the city — those who continue to participate in this destruction — are being warned that they’re engaging in unlawful assembly and officers are prepared for arrests.”

Mayor John Cooper declared a state of civil emergency, and a 10 p.m. curfew was set. Gov. Bill Lee followed those measures by mobilizing the National Guard.