MOSCOW, December 13 (Sputnik) – Thousands of people are expected to take to the streets of Washington on Saturday in protest of the killings of unarmed black Americans by the US police.
In New York City, a well-known anarchist group Anonymous is staging a so-called "Day of Anger", calling for the "Millions March" to hit the streets in the city center.
"A million would be nice, at the moment we have 45,000 people RSVP’d on the Facebook page. One million would be amazing, but optimistic. One of the schools in Massachusetts is sending three buses down so we’re hoping the numbers are bigger," co-organizer Umaara Elliott told Sputnik.
Elliott told Sputnik that the protesters would not engage in the violence and looting that has characterized other US demonstrations in recent weeks but added that it was important to shut down businesses as they support police.
"Our tax dollars pay for the police force and we feel that our tax dollars shouldn’t go to people who abuse their power. And the businesses are supporting police efforts, so causing disruption and shutting down and disrupting businesses is important," she told Sputnik.
The Washington protest will include the families of Eric Garner and Akai Gurley, who were killed by New York police; Trayvon Martin, slain by a Florida neighborhood watchman in 2012; and Michael Brown, killed by an officer in Ferguson, Reuters reports on Saturday.
"We need more than just talk; we need legislative action that will shift things both on the books and in the streets," Reuters quotes civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton, whose National Action Alliance is heading the Washington protest, as saying in a statement.
Sharpton said Congress needed to pass legislation that would let federal prosecutors take over cases involving police. Local prosecutors who work with police regularly who then find themselves investigating officers face a conflict of interest, he said.
Civil rights marchers in Washington DC set to protest against police killings http://t.co/LaculT9kii
— Andy Carvin (@acarvin) 13 декабря 2014
The march will start at noon local time, the agency says, and will block Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the US Capitol. Protesters are expected to arrive by bus from as far away as Florida, Connecticut and Pittsburgh, according to the organizers' website.
In New York, the "Day of Anger," is set to begin at 14:00 EST (19:00 GMT) in Washington Square Park, in Manhattan. It will then head to midtown Manhattan and later turn downtown to end at the New York Police Department headquarters in lower Manhattan.
