Bethesda Black Lives Matter protest draws thousands (Video+Photos)

A Black Lives Matter protest at the Bethesda Library this afternoon drew a large crowd and shut down Arlington Road just after midday. Crowd estimates by reporters with helicopter views ranged from over a thousand to several thousand people. Speakers not only addressed national issues, but also local ones; many in the crowd were students from Walt Whitman and Bethesda-Chevy Chase High Schools. Most people wore masks to the rally, which remained peaceful, and then marched around the downtown. Police provided an escort, blocking traffic as marchers made their way through the central business district. Marchers stopped at spots to kneel.

Despite the peaceful nature of the event, many nearby businesses continued to hammer boards over their windows - even as speakers addressed the crowd at the rally. Some boarded up but stayed open, like Five Guys. Others had been open for morning customers, and were rushing to close before the rally ended. In perhaps the oddest case, the CVS Pharmacy on Wisconsin Avenue was closed, and a sign blamed the closure on a "curfew." Problem: There is no curfew. But the drugstore was entirely boarded up, and unlike other businesses, even had piled up objects to blockade the entrance.

Luxury apartment and condo buildings also took varying degrees of protective measures. Upstairs at Bethesda Row pulled their street-level curtains and sealed both sets of inner doors. Others went further, deploying private security guards to patrol outside.

So far this afternoon, the event has been peaceful. And for the first time since my early years on Twitter, our town of Bethesda is actually outnumbering tweets about Bethesda Softworks in Twitter search!

This looks like a tactical police SUV with rear gun ports,
but it's actually a news vehicle, a helpful reporter
told me. Even the media is becoming militarized!

Warby Parker boarding up as
the event begins nearby