City Hall closes to public Monday following days of protests in Kansas City
Kansas City’s City Hall closed to the public Monday following days of demonstrations that have given way to fires and violent confrontations between police and protesters.
According to an email received by department heads and City Council members, the downtown building was closed because of “the potential for demonstrations at City Hall.” The email included a public message, which was also posted to the city’s Twitter account:
“City Hall, which has been open on a limited basis due to COVID-19, is open for staff and deliveries only,” the tweet said. “We are closed to the public today. The south steps remain open, as always, as a public gathering spot where people can make their voices heard.”
The internal message to council members and department heads said the city and Kansas City Police Department were monitoring for a potential demonstration at noon or 2 p.m.
The city’s spokesman, Chris Hernandez, said in an interview around 1:30 p.m. that a small group gathered briefly at 12th and Locust streets at noon, but quickly dispersed. At 2 p.m., no crowds materialized at City Hall.
Hernandez said the city manager’s office made the call to close City Hall in consultation with the building’s security team and police after seeing social media chatter about a potential demonstration.
Since Friday, thousands in Kansas City have turned out to protest the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police, which sparked protests and riots across the country. Those demonstrations, largely centered around the Country Club Plaza, have turned tense in the evenings, with Kansas City police deploying tear gas and pepper spray.
More than 150 protesters have been arrested. On Saturday, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson declared a state of emergency because of civil unrest and readied the Missouri National Guard and Missouri Highway Patrol.
The Star’s Glenn E. Rice contributed to this report.
