Dana Wingert. (file photo)
Same day, same city, opposite goals as protesters converged on Iowa’s capital city.
Two groups of demonstrators marched on Des Moines Saturday, just hours apart. Several hundred participated in the “Back the Blue” rally, hiking from the state capitol to the police department, expressing support for law officers. Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert addressed the crowd, to chants of “Thank you, blue.”
Later, hundreds of activists with the Black Liberation Movement marched to the home of a Des Moines city councilman. They voiced multiple demands, including the decriminalizing of marijuana, the establishment of a board to investigate complaints about police officers, and defunding the police department