MEMPHIS, Tenn. — LJ Abraham, the organizer of the protest on Wednesday, said just as they were wrapping up for the night, Paul Staples came out of his apartment at the 400 block of South Main Street in downtown Memphis and pointed a gun at them after allegedly yelling at them to stop protesting. Staples is charged with eight counts of aggravated assault and tampering with or fabricating evidence.
"We were standing in the street and I walked by where his truck was parked and he said ‘don’t come any closer’ and he pulled out the pistol and swept it across the group of people," Abraham said.
No one was hurt, but Abraham wished Memphis Police would have acted in the moment after she said there were numerous officers around where the incident happened.
The group was protesting after only one of the three officers involved in Breonna Taylor's death was charged. Officer Brett Hankison faces three counts of endangerment, but neither he nor the two other Louisville officers who fired their weapons at Taylor's apartment were charged with killing her.
"It’s really threatening for me being a black woman and holding peaceful protests in response to black people continuously getting murdered at the hands of police," Abraham said.
Abraham said the incident reminded her of when St. Louis couple Mark and Patricia McCloskey pointed guns at protesters in June. Both the McCloskey's were charged with unlawful use of a weapon.
Shelby County commissioner and activist Tami Sawyer said activism can be dangerous and their work is far from over.
"There’s always going to be protest in a democracy," Sawyer said. "It’s how democracies are formed. The United States was formed under protests."
Abraham said she values peaceful protesting and is always open to conversations with anyone who does not understand why they are protesting.
"I’m always open for conversation," Abraham said. "Any of the other activists out here are always open to conversations in trying to get people a clear understanding as to why we’re doing this."