Two Unplanned Marches End Peacefully
TAMPA, Fla. (970 WFLA) - TPD Chief Jane Castor and HCSO Colonel Ed Duncan will discuss today's events during the 9 p.m. briefing tonight at TPD Headquarters, 411 North Franklin Street in Tampa.
About 50 demonstrators marched from the Voices of Freedom Park through downtown Tampa to the speaker's platform near the Tampa Bay Times Forum. As their one-hour march ended, the group confronted members of the Westboro Baptist Church. Deputies, troopers and officers stood between the two groups to prevent the situation from escalating. It ended peacefully without any incidents or arrests.
Later on in the day at around 5 p.m., a group of approximately 150 demonstrators gathered at Centennial Park. They chanted and gave speeches for about an hour, then marched west on 7th Avenue. The group turned north at Nuccio Parkway and then marched back to the park on 8th Avenue. The group continued giving speeches and then peacefully dispersed shortly after 7:30 p.m.
