Last Updated on August 11, 2020
During a Back the Blue rally in downtown Wichita, Kansas, hundreds of police supporters erupted in song as a single Black Lives Matter protester attempted to derail the event by chanting across the street, in a display that quickly saw the Black Lives Matter protester disappear into an office building.
As the City of Wichita leadership met with the leaders of Project Justice ICT, a local Black Lives Matter-affiliated organization that is demanding police be defunded, supporters of police gathered in downtown Wichita to make the counter argument that police should be funded and supported.
Beginning at 8:30 a.m., the event featured speakers including several candidates running for elected office in Kansas, including Susan Estes, the wife of U.S. House Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS).
After the event’s speakers concluded, a small group of Black Lives Matter protesters began loudly chanting from across the street, prompting opposing chants of “Back the Blue” and “All Lives Matter.”
As the protester continued chanting, the opposing crowd began singing the Star Spangled Banner in an apparent bid to silence the protester. Within moments, the majority of the crowd joined in singing the anthem.
When the melody concluded, applause erupted, and the Black Lives Matter protester was no longer chanting or visible, apparently having returned to an office building.
Hundreds of Back the Blue rally goers erupted in song, singing the Star Spangled Banner in response to disruptions from one Black Lives Matter protester in Wichita, Kansas. pic.twitter.com/RDqHgZVHcM
— National File (@NationalFile) August 11, 2020
Calls to defund the police continue to gain mainstream attention across the country, even as large cities that have experimented with defunding their police are experiencing skyrocketing crime rates.
In New York, where plainclothes police were recently defunded, community leaders are now calling for the officers return due to the lack of safety in previously peaceful neighborhoods.
