ST. LOUIS -- Hundreds of mostly white protesters gathered Thursday evening in downtown St. Louis and marched, chanting "white silence is violence" in the latest demonstration after the acquittal of a former police officer in the death of a black man.
In what organizers called the "White Allies Only" rally, a crowd marched from a downtown plaza to Busch Stadium, where about 50,000 people gathered for a Billy Joel concert. The crowd stood outside the stadium chanting for several minutes while about 100 officers stood inside a metal barrier, some in riot gear, but there were no confrontations or arrests.
"Glad you made it," Joel told the crowd. "I know things have been a little tense around here."
A judge on Sept. 15 acquitted former officer Jason Stockley in the 2011 shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith. More than 160 people were arrested in protests last weekend, but demonstrations since then have been law-abiding.
Protest organizer Cori Bush said the point of Thursday's rally was to drive home the point that it isn't just blacks who are upset by the Stockley verdict.
"I think it's great for people to know there are white people that believe black lives matter and aren't afraid to show it, that want to tear down systemic racism," Bush said.
Jennifer Sherer, a demonstrator from St. Louis, said the city remains badly segregated.
"When you look at the history of St. Louis, the racial divide is very intentional," Sherer said while holding a "Black Lives Matter" sign.
Protesters have aimed to disrupt commerce in St. Louis, with some success. Downtown virtually shut down on the day of the ruling. Bars and restaurants closed during protests in the city's Central West End and in the suburb of University City. Concerts by U2 and Ed Sheeran were canceled last weekend over security concerns.
In a separate protest, a couple of hundred demonstrators blocked traffic for about 30 minutes Thursday afternoon near Forest Park. Police formed a line to keep protesters from walking onto Interstate 64.
Bush declined to disclose plans for additional protests and said it was too early to say whether demonstrators would show up at a Sunday appearance in St. Louis by Steve Bannon, who returned as chief of Breitbart News last month after leaving President Donald Trump's administration.
Bannon is to appear at the "Put America First Rally" sponsored by Phyllis Schlafly's Eagles, a spinoff of the conservative think tank Eagle Forum.
Stockley killed Smith in 2011 after a police chase. Stockley testified that he shot Smith in self-defense. Prosecutors said Stockley planted the gun found in Smith's car. Judge Timothy Wilson ruled that prosecutors didn't prove murder beyond a reasonable doubt.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that there have been more fatal police shootings in St. Louis so far in 2017 than in any year for a decade, even with three months remaining until year's end. Police have fatally shot eight people so far this year, up from five in all of 2016. Police say all of those shot by officers were armed.
The Rev. Darryl Gray, chairman of the Social Justice Committee of the Missionary Baptist State Convention, was among Thursday's protesters.
"The people made it clear from day one after the verdict that there will be civil disruption, disobedience and disturbance that will disrupt the financial economy and the peace," he said, adding that clergymen are supportive of the protest.
"We will continue to do this until the protest leadership sees changes in the St. Louis Police Department," Gray said.
Information for this article was contributed by Jim Salter of The Associated Press and by Joe Holleman, Denise Hollinshed and Daniel Durchholz of the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
A Section on 09/22/2017