The online livestream for Houston’s weekly City Council meeting experienced an error with conspicuous timing on Tuesday.
During a meeting in which a dozen of scheduled speakers expressed concern over ICE’s presence in Houston, a group of protestors confronted Mayor John Whitmire and the collection of city representatives. Protestors shouted for Houston officials to “do something,” following the ICE shooting and killing of 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, then chastised city leadership for looking at their phones during time allotted to scheduled speakers.
The protestors began chants of “Justice for Lorenzo.” The online stream then lost its audio and was then replaced by what appears to be the theme from the popular television show Friday Night Lights.
Jen Rice of Democracy Docket shared video of the interrupted stream Tuesday afternoon. Chron could not reach Mayor Whitmire’s office for comment as of Tuesday morning.
More than a hundred residents appeared at Tuesday’s meeting. All protestors were escorted out of the chambers, and two were detained and dragged out by Houston police. Neither will face additional charges. Whitmire criticized the protestors’ actions following the evening.
“It was a disrespect for the family, city government and those of us conducting business,” Whitmire told KHOU 11. “No doubt intent on shutting down council.”
Protests have emerged across Houston in the last week since Salgado was shot in Houston’s East End after being stopped by ICE agents. Hundreds of protestors gathered in Ervan Chew Park in Montrose and marched across Dunlavy Street. Ronaldo Salgado, Lorenzo’s son, spoke at the gathering as he called for a “full, transparent and independent investigation” into his father’s death.
“We want to continue pressuring the government to allow for a full, transparent, independent investigation,” Ronaldo said, per Houston Public Media’s Bianca Seward. “It’s very nice to see so many people, so many people of all backgrounds, races, colors, creeds, religions come together and try to ask for what’s right. Try to ask for the bare minimum, and it’s going to be justice.”
Community organizers in Houston now call for a ‘No Business As Usual’ day in Houston on Friday. Citizens are urged to stay home from work and not spend money on Houston businesses on Friday, and a protest is expected at Hidalgo Park in the East End at 6 p.m.
Various activist groups call on Houston Police to end its cooperation with ICE. They also seek the release of the names of the agents involved in Salgado’s death, as well as release of the men who were passengers in the van Salgado was driving.