{"id":402468,"date":"2026-08-10T10:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T10:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/402468\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T10:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T10:52:10","slug":"why-austin-protests-over-police-violence-are-smaller-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/402468\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Austin protests over police violence are smaller now"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Austin police killed Michael Ramos, an unarmed Black and Latino man, in April 2020, followed weeks later by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, thousands of Austinites took to the streets<\/a> to protest police violence.<\/p>\n

\"Thousands<\/p>\n

Thousands of protesters gathered and marched peacefully from Huston-Tillotson University to the State Capitol chanting Black Lives Matter and justice on Sunday, June 7, 2020<\/p>\n

Ricardo B. Brazziell Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

Demonstrators blocked Interstate 35, gathered outside Austin City Hall, Austin Police Department headquarters and the Texas Capitol. Protesters clashed with officers in demonstrations that shaped local politics and intensified demands to overhaul policing.<\/p>\n

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\"Activists<\/p>\n

Activists with the group Dare to Struggle protest the police shooting of Anthoneil Williams II and others outside the office of Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza in Austin on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman\"Elizabeth<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Gonzales, whose son Alex Gonzales Jr. was fatally shot by police in 2021, joins activists with the group Dare to Struggle to protest the police shooting of Anthoneil Williams II and others outside the office of Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza in Austin on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman\"Scott<\/p>\n

Scott Delgado, left, of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and Chris Harris, of the Texas Civil Rights Project, participate in a news conference outside Austin City Hall on Thursday, July 30, 2026, before an Austin City Council budget work session. Advocacy groups, including Austin Justice Coalition, Equity Action, Grassroots Leadership, PSL and Hands Off Central TX, called on council to keep the Austin Police Department budget flat and reject proposed reductions to social services in the city manager’s proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget.<\/p>\n

Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman\"Christian<\/p>\n

Christian Sevidal gathers signs for at a news conference outside Austin City Hall on Thursday, July 30, 2026, before an Austin City Council budget work session. Advocacy groups, including Austin Justice Coalition, Equity Action, Grassroots Leadership, PSL and Hands Off Central TX, called on council to keep the Austin Police Department budget flat and reject proposed reductions to social services in the city manager’s proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget.<\/p>\n

Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman\"Daniela<\/p>\n

Daniela Silva of the Workers Defense Action Fund participates in a news conference outside Austin City Hall on Thursday, July 30, 2026, before an Austin City Council budget work session. Advocacy groups, including Austin Justice Coalition, Equity Action, Grassroots Leadership, PSL and Hands Off Central TX, called on council to keep the Austin Police Department budget flat and reject proposed reductions to social services in the city manager’s proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget.<\/p>\n

Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman\"Activists<\/p>\n

Activists with the group Dare to Struggle protest the police shooting of Anthoneil Williams II and others outside the office of Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza in Austin on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman\"Thousands<\/p>\n

Thousands of protesters confront APD in front of Austin Police Headquarters in downtown Austin on Saturday, May 30, 2020.<\/p>\n

Ricardo B. Brazziell Austin American-Statesman\"After<\/p>\n

After breaching security and moving outside, protesters scream at Travis County Sheriff officers at the Travis County District Attorney\u2019s office building while protesting the death of Anthoneil Williams II in downtown Austin, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. The 17-year-old was fatally shot by Austin police last week during what authorities believe was a mental health crisis.<\/p>\n

Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman\"Protesters<\/p>\n

Protesters take over Guadalupe Street as activist group Dare to Struggle holds a protest to demand justice for Anthoneil Williams II in downtown Austin, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. The 17-year-old was fatally shot by Austin police last week during what authorities believe was a mental health crisis.<\/p>\n

Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman\"Ameer<\/p>\n

Ameer Alogaili, 16, friend of Anthoneil Williams II, screams for justice in downtown Austin, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. The 17-year-old was fatally shot by Austin police last week during what authorities believe was a mental health crisis.<\/p>\n

Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman\"Activist<\/p>\n

Activist group Dare to Struggle holds a protest to demand justice for Anthoneil Williams II in downtown Austin, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. The 17-year-old was fatally shot by Austin police last week during what authorities believe was a mental health crisis.<\/p>\n

Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman\"Activist<\/p>\n

Activist group Dare to Struggle walks down 8th Street toward the Austin Police Headquarters as they protest the death of Anthoneil Williams II in downtown Austin, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. The 17-year-old was fatally shot by Austin police last week during what authorities believe was a mental health crisis.<\/p>\n

Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman\"A<\/p>\n

A protester holds a sign demanding justice for Anthoneil Williams IIa s activist group Dare to Struggle hold a protest in downtown Austin, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. The 17-year-old was fatally shot by Austin police last week during what authorities believe was a mental health crisis.<\/p>\n

Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman\"Activist<\/p>\n

Activist group Dare to Struggle marches toward the district attorney\u2019s office during a protest to demand justice for Anthoneil Williams II in downtown Austin, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. The 17-year-old was fatally shot by Austin police last week during what authorities believe was a mental health crisis.<\/p>\n

Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

Six years later, after Austin police shot and killed<\/a> 17-year-old Anthoneil Williams II, an unarmed Black teenager, the response has been markedly different. Demonstrations following Williams\u2019 death have drawn dozens of people<\/a>, not the hundreds or thousands who crowded Austin streets in 2020.\u00a0Some longtime police-accountability groups have concentrated instead on City Hall, pressing for changes to the city budget and its response to people experiencing mental health crises.<\/p>\n

For Nykea Arnold, an Austin native who marched after the police killings of Ramos and Floyd, staying home after Williams\u2019 death hasn\u2019t been due to indifference. Arnold, now the mother of two young children, said that after years of watching police shootings continue, becoming a mother and seeing protesters met with force, demonstrating no longer feels like the simple decision it did in 2020.<\/p>\n

“I would love to go protest,” Arnold said. “Our voices need to be heard. But right now I need to think about my babies so I can make it home to them.”<\/p>\n

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Arnold\u2019s decision reflects several changes that organizers, former protesters and longtime advocates said are making mass demonstrations harder to sustain: The circumstances that produced the extraordinary crowds of 2020 are gone, the Williams shooting\u00a0has been understood through a more contested set of facts, and some supporters have grown discouraged after watching reforms won six years ago later weakened or reversed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the same time, Austin\u2019s police-accountability movement has not disappeared so much as changed its tactics and fractured across different causes.<\/p>\n

Why 2020 was different<\/p>\n

\"Protesters<\/p>\n

Protesters rush to shut down southbound lane of Interstate 35 freeway in Austin Texas over the police killing of George Floyd Saturday, May 30, 2020.<\/p>\n

Ricardo B. Brazziell Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

The smaller crowds today may say as much about the unique conditions that converged in 2020, said Alvin Tillery, a political science professor at Northwestern University who studies race and social movements in America.<\/p>\n

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Tillery described the demonstrations that followed Floyd\u2019s killing as one of the largest protest movements in American history, fueled by pandemic lockdowns, nonstop media attention and a singular political moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe conditions that led to the George Floyd protests were unique,\u201d Tillery said. \u201cEveryone watched that on television, and it was just a very poignant moment in our political culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those conditions affected not only the scale of public outrage but also people\u2019s ability to act on it.<\/p>\n

Jomar Simmons, who joined Austin demonstrations in 2020 while he was unable to work due to the pandemic, said Floyd\u2019s killing became impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n

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Williams\u2019 death, by comparison, barely registered on his radar. Simmons said he hadn\u2019t heard about the shooting until the American-Statesman contacted him.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m working and have other stuff going on,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cIn 2020, the protests were a world event that everyone was doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam Loewy, the personal injury lawyer who represented the family of an Austin man killed by police officers in 2013 and has closely watched how the community responds to police shootings, said the 2020 demonstrations reflected an extraordinary moment not easily repeatable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese protests come in waves,\u201d Loewy said. \u201cAnd 2020 was the peak.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Six years later, the pandemic conditions that gave many people time to demonstrate are gone. Public attention is divided among immigration enforcement, international wars, economic concerns and other political fights. And unlike Floyd\u2019s killing, Williams\u2019 death has not produced a single, broadly shared public understanding of what happened.<\/p>\n

Why has the response to Williams II been different?<\/p>\n

\"Activists<\/p>\n

Activists with the group Dare to Struggle protest the police shooting of Anthoneil Williams II and others outside the office of Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza in Austin on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

While the massive protests of 2020 were shaped by extraordinary national events, advocates and observers say the circumstances surrounding Williams’ death may also be influencing the public\u2019s response.<\/p>\n

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Williams, 17, called 911 himself to report an armed person in a Northeast Austin park and requested police. Officers later confronted Williams, who police say reached toward his waistband before they shot and killed him. Investigators later determined Williams had no gun and that he was carrying a water bottle.<\/p>\n

During the call, Williams repeatedly told the dispatcher an armed person was at the park and asked for police to respond. Investigators believe that Williams himself was that person. and that he may have been experiencing a mental health response.<\/p>\n

Within hours of the shooting, Austin police officials released body-camera footage and audio of the 911 call, while Police Chief Lisa Davis publicly described the encounter as \u201csuicide by police.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams\u2019 father, Anthoneil Williams, declined to be interviewed for this story. At demonstrations following the shooting, however, Williams\u2019 friends and supporters rejected the chief’s characterization, arguing it shifted attention away from officers’ decision to use deadly force against an unarmed teenager.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Kaveh Mostafa, 19, a friend of Williams, said she hoped the protests would focus on holding officers accountable.<\/p>\n

Kaysha Dilbert, 18, who met Williams in 2024, said repeated police shootings in which officers are not held accountable have left many young people feeling skeptical that protests alone can produce lasting change.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople start with the hope that something will change,\u201d Dilbert said, \u201cBut it keeps happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

How the Williams shooting was framed<\/p>\n

\"Chas<\/p>\n

Chas Moore of the Austin Justice Coaltion speaks at a news conference outside Austin City Hall on Thursday, July 30, 2026, before an Austin City Council budget work session. Advocacy groups, including Austin Justice Coalition, Equity Action, Grassroots Leadership, PSL and Hands Off Central TX, called on council to keep the Austin Police Department budget flat and reject proposed reductions to social services in the city manager’s proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget.<\/p>\n

Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

Chas Moore, executive director of the Austin Justice Coalition, said public perception has been shaped not only by the circumstances of Williams\u2019 death but also by how police officials characterized the shooting in its immediate aftermath..<\/p>\n

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He said the combination of the 911 call, the body-camera footage and the chief’s characterization of the shooting made Williams’ death more difficult for some people to process than other police killings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s a divide among the people that would normally come out to ask for justice for a police shooting,\u201d Moore said. \u201cThere’s a fracture there.”<\/p>\n

Moore said he believes the department’s decision to quickly release video and characterize the shooting as “suicide by police” has shaped the public conversation around the incident.<\/p>\n

“The chief’s spin is absolutely playing a factor in how the public responds,” he said.<\/p>\n

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Chris Harris, a board member of Equity Action, said the absence of bystander video also distinguishes Williams’ death from many of the police killings that galvanized nationwide protests.<\/p>\n

\u201cTypically this kind of video shows a perspective that is more objective on the totality of circumstances,\u201d Harris said. \u201cWithout it, police have been able to frame the incident as they want.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Austin Police Department did not respond to requests for comment for this story.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Arnold said the police narrative surrounding Williams’ death did not change her own view of the shooting but she believes it may have influenced others.<\/p>\n

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“They’re trying to get in front of it,” Arnold said. “If it’s video from a neighbor, a community member, people usually feel different about it.”<\/p>\n

Liz Gonzales, who leapt into protests against police violence after Austin officers killed her son, Alex Gonzales Jr., in 2021, remembers speaking before crowds of hundreds demanding accountability.<\/p>\n

Watching the response to Williams’ death, she said, has underscored just how much the public response has changed.<\/p>\n

Has the movement faded or just shifted?<\/p>\n

\"After<\/p>\n

After breaching security and moving outside, protesters scream at Travis County Sheriff officers at the Travis County District Attorney?s office building while protesting the death of Anthoneil Williams II in downtown Austin, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. The 17-year-old was fatally shot by Austin police last week during what authorities believe was a mental health crisis.<\/p>\n

Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

The movement pushing for police accountability and reform in Austin looks markedly different than it did six years ago.<\/p>\n

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In 2020, demonstrations stretched over weeks after Austin officers killed Ramos in late April before swelling into some of the largest protests in Austin history following Floyd\u2019s killing about a month later. The Austin Justice Coalition helped organize many of the largest marches and rallies, some of which drew thousands of supporters, while groups including Grassroots Leadership, Workers Defense and other community organizations helped sustain regular demonstrations, mutual aid efforts and calls for policy change aimed at achieving police reform.<\/p>\n

Austin\u2019s elected officials also attended rallies in 2020, speaking out against police violence while marching alongside protesters amid increasing public pressure to reshape the city\u2019s approach to policing.<\/p>\n

The response to Williams\u2019 death has been smaller. Dare to Struggle, a newer grassroots organization that has largely operated outside Austin’s longstanding police accountability coalitions, organized demonstrations July 28 and Aug. 3 that drew dozens \u2014 not hundreds or thousands \u2014 of protesters to the Travis County District Attorney\u2019s office and the Austin Police Department headquarters.<\/p>\n

Many of Austin\u2019s more established advocacy organizations have \u00a0focused their efforts instead on pressing city leaders for changes to the city budget, which the Austin City Council is set to adopt this week. Those groups had already been pressing Council members to expand Austin\u2019s mental health system while keeping the Austin Police Department\u2019s budget flat but Williams\u2019 death helped underscore that plea.<\/p>\n

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For organizers now working outside the city\u2019s older police-accountability coalitions, smaller crowds are not necessarily a sign that the movement has disappeared. Some say the goal itself has changed.<\/p>\n

Oz, an organizer with Dare to Struggle who declined to give his last name out of concern for retribution from law enforcement, said the group is less interested in recreating the spontaneous crowds of 2020 than building a movement capable of lasting beyond a single political flashpoint. He compared the demonstrations that followed Floyd\u2019s death to \u00a0a grease fire \u2014 explosive but short-lived. Today\u2019s movement, he said, is more like glowing embers.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmbers will burn all night,\u201d Oz said. \u201cOur anger is so focused, and it’s not going anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

But discouragement surfaced repeatedly in interviews with organizers, longtime advocates and people who marched in 2020. They described a movement reshaped by political setbacks and a growing sense among some supporters that mass demonstrations have not produced lasting change.<\/p>\n

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Many organizers pointed to what happened after Austin cut millions of dollars from the Police Department budget in 2020. The following year, state lawmakers passed a bill allowing the state to financially penalize large cities that reduced police funding.<\/p>\n

More recently, the Austin City Council approved a five-year police contract in 2024 estimated to cost about $220 million. Opponents argued the additional police spending would limit the city\u2019s ability to invest in other services, including mental health response, as Austin contends with broader budget constraints.<\/p>\n

Harris said the state restrictions and council\u2019s approval of the contract have eroded some of the optimism activists felt after their victories in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do wonder to what extent there is less hopefulness around the capacity for change around this issue,\u201d Harris said. \u201cSpecifically where we got so much done but the state and city came in and preempted and undid that work.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The competition for activists\u2019 time and attention has changed, too. Organizers said some people who focused on police violence in 2020 are now also mobilizing around immigration enforcement, international wars and economic issues.<\/p>\n

Alliyah Pozo, another organizer with Dare to Struggle who has attended demonstrations over Williams\u2019 death, said she herself felt discouraged enough for a time that she stopped attending protests. She said after watching years of demonstrating with little lasting societal change, she felt it was no longer worthwhile to protest.<\/p>\n

That changed last year when she became active again during protests over Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re humans and we\u2019re all we have,\u201d Pozo said. \u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t we spend our time advocating for a better life for one another? Even when it can be exhausting and paralyzing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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When the crowds fade, what comes next?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Activists<\/p>\n

Activists walk to the Ronnie Earle building, where the Travis County District Attorney?s office is located, as they protest the death of Anthoneil Williams II in downtown Austin, Tuesday, July 28, 2026. The 17-year-old was fatally shot by Austin police last week during what authorities believe was a mental health crisis.<\/p>\n

Mikala Compton\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

For Gonzales, who continues to attend demonstrations after her son\u2019s death, those broader explanations offer little comfort.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt hurts me,\u201d Gonzales said. \u201cThe way people have pushed this issue to the side.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Gonzales said continuing to show up is one way she copes with her loss. She attends demonstrations after police shootings in hopes that families who have experienced similar deaths can find one another \u2014 and that smaller crowds can still exert pressure for accountability.<\/p>\n

“I’m going to keep showing up, no matter how many people are standing beside me,” Gonzales said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Austin police killed Michael Ramos, an unarmed Black and Latino man, in April 2020, followed weeks later…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":402469,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-402468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402468\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/402469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}