Black Lives Matter protesters make showing at courthouse

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  • Meridian resident Yreli Lovaton holds up a sign against the detention of illegal-immigrant children in cages Wednesday in downtown Meridian. Lovaton and others were protesting as part of the Black Lives Matter protests. Allen D. Fisher | The Clifton Record
    Meridian resident Yreli Lovaton holds up a sign against the detention of illegal-immigrant children in cages Wednesday in downtown Meridian. Lovaton and others were protesting as part of the Black Lives Matter protests. Allen D. Fisher | The Clifton Record
  • Protesters hold up signs for Black Lives Matter movement at the roadside near the Bosque River Wednesday in Meridian. Allen D. Fisher | The Clifton Record
    Protesters hold up signs for Black Lives Matter movement at the roadside near the Bosque River Wednesday in Meridian. Allen D. Fisher | The Clifton Record
  • Protesters hold up signs for Black Lives Matter movement at the roadside near the Bosque County courthouse Wednesday in downtown Meridian. The woman on the left is holding an anti-protesters poster while officers keep the peace between the two political sides. Allen D. Fisher | The Clifton Record
    Protesters hold up signs for Black Lives Matter movement at the roadside near the Bosque County courthouse Wednesday in downtown Meridian. The woman on the left is holding an anti-protesters poster while officers keep the peace between the two political sides. Allen D. Fisher | The Clifton Record
  • Protesters hold up signs for Black Lives Matter movement at the roadside near the Bosque River Wednesday in Meridian. Allen D. Fisher | The Clifton Record
    Protesters hold up signs for Black Lives Matter movement at the roadside near the Bosque River Wednesday in Meridian. Allen D. Fisher | The Clifton Record
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Meridian saw its first protesters in years as the Black Lives Matter movement found itself at the Bosque County seat Wednesday.

A little more than a dozen people held signs in support of Black Lives Matter and other so called liberal supporting causes that was organized through social media by Meridian resident Yreli Lovaton.

“We’re protesting the injustices of people of color of oppression in Meridian, Mainly the inequalities go through in the city, county, state, county and the world,” said Lovaton.

“I’ve experience it here. And people want to pretend it doesn’t exist here. But the people who say that isn’t a problem here aren’t people of color.”

Even people from Waco traveled to show their support for the protests.

“I’m out here showing my support for my friend,” said Cedric Gaines, from Waco. “No one is better than anyone else because of their race. It’s important, especially for small towns like this break the generational curses of racism.”

The latest spur of Black Lives Matter protests came sweeping across the US due to the death and accused murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police while being restrained in police custody.

As many protesters there were, there was an equal amount of police presence. At some points, police outnumbering the number of protesters present downtown.

“We got word on Facebook that they were going to bus people in from Waco and there was going to be a hate group with them to disrupt business,” states Meridian Police Chief Will Stevens. “On the other side of that.

“On the other side of that. There were threats made on social media towards the protesters. All of the local police departments have come together and made sure we have enough of a presence to cover whatever situation may have arisen.”

It was overkill according to protesters.

“It’s just too much. Most of that was made up and it was believed by the chief of police. There are more police than there are protesters,” said Lovaton.

Bosque County Sheriffs Department even had an armored-military transport ready for use “if needed.” It wasn’t.

It wasn’t.

Besides one woman holding up an anti-protester sign and a man driving up and down the street with Trump and non-traditional Confederate flags, the protest that first began at the park later ended peacefully downtown outside the courthouse. Lovaton told supporters

Lovaton told supporters they plan to another protest in Clifton in the future.