SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Protestors took to the streets of Sioux Falls Wednesday night in response to the U.S. Supreme court overturning Roe V. Wade.
Owen Jenkins of Sioux Falls was one of the demonstrators. He described how the outburst developed then ended.
“On 14th and Phillips people started to approach that corner,” Jenkins said. “They (law enforcement)started to set up basically like a human barricade and with their cars so we couldn’t continue to walk.
Jenkins says people were trying to be heard.
“Tonight I saw people exercising their rights of protest, fighting for their individual right to choose what happens to their own body and what they do with their own,” Jenkins said.
Although the protest started peaceful, some demonstrators clashed with the police.
Smoke was used to break up the crowd.
Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum addressed some protesters earlier in the evening, assuring them of expression of their First Amendment rights. At 10 p.m. Wednesday, Thum held a news conference about the still ongoing event.
“Some people continued to go up Phillips,” Thum said. “Some gathered and sat down in the street between 10th and 9th and Phillips. We wanted to give this time. We wanted to let this kind of allow people to say what they needed to say.”
Police did make some arrests. We should learn more details at the Thursday morning police briefing.
(Rich Keller, KELO.com News, contributed this report.)
