May The first organized protest in the city began on the evening of May 29 and went on into the early morning hours of May 30. Protesters organized at
Monroe Park and marched down Franklin Street through the
Monroe Ward neighborhood. There, they were confronted by the
Richmond Police Department (RPD),
VCU Police, and the
Virginia Division of Capitol Police. Rioters set two police cruisers on fire, both of which were destroyed: one VCU cruiser and one RPD cruiser. Additionally, protesters vandalized a
GRTC Pulse rapid transit bus and set it on fire, destroying it. On the evening of May 30 into the early morning hours of May 31, several hundred protesters organized around the campus of
Virginia Commonwealth University and marched down
Monument Avenue. The street is well known as being the home of several prominent statues depicting Confederate generals in a positive and honorable light. These statues have, especially in recent years, been subject to vandalism, even prior to the Floyd riots. The first statue defaced was the
J.E.B. Stuart Monument located at the intersection of Lombardy Street and Monument Ave. Vandals spray painted the statue and destroyed the fencing around the statue. Subsequently, rioters tagged the
Robert E. Lee Monument with various slogans, including "
Black Lives Matter", "Lynch Trump", "
All Cops Are Bastards", and "Fuck Capitalism". The
Jefferson Davis Memorial, and the
Stonewall Jackson Monument were also damaged, although none of the statues were toppled. The interior of the
Memorial to the Women of the Confederacy was set on fire. Initially, the Richmond Fire Department reported that just the exterior was damaged. Later on it was noted that the building's interior caught fire, destroying artifacts within the building. Demonstrators also defaced the sign for the
Virginia Museum of History and Culture to re-read "Virginia Museum of Bullshit and Cultists". The
Rumors of War statue by the Museum was left unharmed. Damage was also reported at the Whole Foods Market near the
Allison Street transit station. Riots and acts of vandalism went on until 3 or 4:00 a.m. on the morning of May 31. Numerous community members reorganized around the Lee Monument around 10:00 a.m. the next morning, with smaller groups organizing around the Stuart, Jackson, and Davis monuments. The statues along Monument Avenue were further defaced and spray painted. Skateboarders skated on the JEB Stuart monument.
June Despite the city-wide curfew, riots continued into the early morning hours of June 1. Approximately 100 to 200 rioters were arrested. Police reports indicated that there was less damage sustained than previous nights. It was reported that several dumpsters, cars, and additional buildings were set on fire. Throughout the day there were small protests around the Lee and Stuart monuments. Around 5:30 to 6:00 p.m., several hundred protesters gathered near the city's
Central Office District blocking streets. Around 7:20 p.m., about forty minutes prior to curfew, Richmond police tear gassed a group of about 500 or 600 protesters that had gathered near the Stuart and Lee monuments. At the time of the tear gassing, the protesters were peaceful and kneeling, while chanting "Why are we here? LOVE!". Drone footage showed the police standing in a diamond formation, with two officers in the center throwing or firing the first tear gas canisters. This posture and formation of officers indicated that this was a premeditated action, Later, the RPD tweeted that protesters were attempting to topple the statues. The tear gassing was met with harsh criticism, and the police issued an apology. On the morning of June 2, Mayor Stoney addressed the press and citizens at
Richmond City Hall regarding the police attacks on protesters on June 1. He publicly apologized for the actions of the RPD. Citizens called on Stoney to fire and arrest the police officers involved in the tear gassing, with some calling on Stoney to resign as mayor. Stoney joined protesters in their June 2 march as part of a promise to listen to the concerns and demands of protesters. Following the news of the statue removal, protests continued throughout the city, and were not attacked. A vigil for Breonna Taylor was held at
Maymont Park on June 7, in celebration of what would have been her 27th birthday. Also on June 2, a group of officers were filmed as one of them appeared to repeatedly spit at a woman in handcuffs. On June 3, an open plaza was set up on the grounds of the Lee Monument to serve as a DIY cultural center. On the night of June 6, protesters toppled a statue of
Williams Carter Wickham, a Confederate general, in
Monroe Park. The statue was erected in 1891, and descendants of Wickham had previously urged to remove the statue as early as 2017. Three days later, on the night of June 9, rioters went to the
Christopher Columbus statue in
Byrd Park, set it on fire, toppled the statue, and threw it into Fountain Lake on the Byrd Park grounds, making it the second toppled statue in a week in the city. The following evening, on June 10 around 11:00 p.m., rioters tore down the Jefferson Davis statue on Monument Avenue, making it the third statue toppled in the city. On Saturday, June 13, a march was held on Monument Avenue called the "5,000 Man March." Following this, Mayor Stoney asked the
Commonwealth's Attorney for the City of Richmond to investigate the march. The RPD also announced their own internal investigation. During the early morning hours of June 15, a protest was held outside of the Richmond Police Headquarters against the
police brutality exhibited by the RPD over the previous two weeks. Police shot protesters with
non-lethal bullets and tear gas. The next day, June 16, Chief William Smith of the Richmond Police resigned at the request of Stoney. On June 17, a fourth statue was toppled in Richmond, the third Confederate statue. The statue, the Confederate Howitzer Statue, was located on the Monroe Park campus of
Virginia Commonwealth University, and was unveiled in 1892. The Howitzer Statue celebrated a Confederate artillery unit. On June 19, various
Juneteenth celebrations were held across the region. Around this time, a sign was placed by the Lee Monument proclaiming the area as "Marcus-David Peters Circle", honoring the late Peters, who died while in RPD custody. On June 20, in
The Fan neighborhood nearby, protesters tore down the First Virginia Regiment Monument, a statue commemorating
Revolutionary War veterans. On June 22, protesters rallied outside of
Richmond City Hall during a
City Council meeting, demanding the abolition of the RPD, the creation of a Citizens Review Board with
subpoena power, and a "Marcus Alert System", which would send trained
social workers to a mental health crisis instead of police.
July was partially deconstructed by the city on July 1, 2020 On July 1, construction crews removed the Stonewall Jackson Statue at the corner of Arthur Ashe Boulevard and Monument Avenue, making it the first statue the city government had removed. On July 7, construction crews removed the J.E.B. Stuart Statue at the corner of Monument Avenue and Lombardy Street, making it the second statue the city government had removed. On July 25, a dump truck was set on fire during a
Solidarity with Portland riot in south Richmond. An
unlawful assembly was declared at 11 pm. Mayor Stoney and Police Chief Gerald Smith jointly announced that
white supremacists had been acting as
agents provocateurs, "marching under the banner of Black Lives Matter, an attempt to undermine an otherwise overwhelmingly peaceful movement."
August Throughout August, more efforts were made by the Richmond Police Department and the mayor's office to quell the ongoing protests and riots, which had been occurring for nearly two months. On August 7, the Police Department actively disassembled camping area around the Lee Monument site, citing complaints from nearby residents. On August 11, the unofficial historic markers were removed by city officials, and the RPD upped its efforts to prevent overnight camping on the site. On August 13, the ongoing protests joined with student activist groups at nearby
Virginia Commonwealth University to defund or abolish the
VCU Police Department. Demands included the release the department's line-item budget for the last five fiscal years, for the university to sever ties with the Richmond Police Department, to redirect all police monies to mental health services, and to actively ban the
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from entering the campus. On August 16, the sign marking the name "Marcus-David Peters Circle" was removed, although the RPD denied responsibility. ==Government response==