Protest in Phoenix at State Capitol Declared Unlawful

PHOENIX, Ariz., Feb. 4 (KNN)— Hundreds converged on the Arizona State Capitol (1700 W Washington Street ) around 5 p.m. Monday as part of a National Day Without Immigrants demonstration.

Protesters marched from the capitol grounds toward the Downtown Phoenix area, taking to the streets to demonstrate against immigration enforcement and the Trump administration. The march made its way to the intersection of 7th Avenue and Roosevelt Street, where demonstrators were met by Phoenix Police and AZ DPS troopers in riot gear.

Law enforcement personnel held a line near the intersection and stopped all traffic to prevent the march from reaching Interstate 10. The march arrived back at the capitol around 9 p.m. Protesters gathered along 17th Avenue between Wesley Bolin Plaza and the main capitol building.

Protesters in vehicles passed back and forth along 17th Avenue as the crowd lined the streets. Multiple vehicles were seen performing burnouts as they passed through the area. Additional protesters in a nearby parking lot were seen firing illegal aerial fireworks.

Troopers in riot gear exited the capitol building around 9:30 p.m. and formed a line between the Senate building and the House of Representatives. They deployed a drone equipped with a public address speaker and began issuing commands to disperse.

Troopers quickly declared an unlawful assembly and slowly advanced toward the crowd. As troopers approached, a protester from the crowd threw an object into the air, striking the DPS drone and causing it to crash (5:06 mark in the video).

Troopers were seen taking at least one person into custody.

Myles Kersey, Video Journalist / KNN