This Is the Most Powerful Video I’ve Taken of the Protests So Far

Mother Jones/Mark Helenowski

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I’ve filmed a lot of protests this past week. I captured video inside the NYPD-fueled mayhem in Flatbush last weekend. I covered a peaceful twilight demonstration two nights ago where protesters defied curfew. On Twitter, I’ve documented Black Lives Matter protests when I’ve seen them

But this might be the most powerful video I’ve captured of the protests so far. Here’s a snippet:

Full video is at the bottom of the page. Scrub around the video—or watch it all the way through. The sheer scale is impressive.

Thousands of New Yorkers marched in the rain today, which would have been Breonna Taylor’s 27th birthday. At one point, two conductors on a passing J train blared their horns. A roar went up in the crowd. Both conductors stuck their fists out the window.

The full march took over 12 minutes to wind its way past me. It took so long, in fact, the battery on my phone died near the tail end of the demonstration. In the final seconds, you can just make out the phalanx of police cars that typically trail these protests.

If you thought the protests would lose steam or wind down, there are many thousands of wet Brooklynites right now arguing against you with their feet. And the weekend is only beginning.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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