Protesters are stepping up to stop looting during protests of the police killing of George Floyd.
From sports stars to everyday protesters, people are stepping up to confront looters and protect protesters as Americans continue to take to the streets decrying the police killing of George Floyd.
Ultimate Fight Championship star Jon Jones patrolled Albuquerque and disarmed two teenage taggers of their spray cans, he posted to Instagram "As a young black man, trust me, I'm frustrated as well, but this is not the way, we are starting to make a bad situation worse," he wrote.
Former NBA celebrity player Dennis Rodman likewise railed against violence and stealing, saying on social media, "We're human beings, not f***ing animals."
In New York City, protesters linked arms in front of a Target store to keep it from being looted. In California's seaside city of Santa Monica, demonstrators talked some people out of stealing bicycles from a sporting goods store as others tied looted bikes to the roofs of their cars.
"It was just the right thing to do," said 20-year-old Spokane protester Isaiah Dunn, who is seen on several social media video posts yelling at people looting a Nike store.
In Washington, D.C., homeowner Rahul Dubey held open the front door of his three-story row house so that scores of protesters could seek shelter from police who had pepper-sprayed demonstrators trapped on his street, he said.
The protesters were "absolutely decimated and beaten on the steps of my house," he told MSNBC.
"The crowd came racing through like a tornado," Dubey told NBC Washington. "We had to keep the door open and keep pulling them in ... it's the same you would do if there's a storm."
More than 70 people sheltered overnight in Dubey's home, with many posting praise to him on social media while cleaning pepper spray from their eyes while sitting on any available space, including the ledge of a bathtub.
Dubey told MSNBC that police banged on his door trying to get in, and pumped pepper spray through his home's open windows.
"They sprayed pepper spray through the windows," he told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell.
A local shop sent pizzas to Dubey's home to feed those staying there, he said.
The district's chief of Metropolitan Police, Peter Newsham, told reporters Tuesday his department would review body camera videos from officers in the area.
Tuesday morning, after the district's curfew was lifted, protesters filed out of Dubey's home and were greeted by cheering crowds.
Dubey addressed the gathering, saying, "Get home safe. Get some rest. Talk to each other," Dubey said from his doorstep. "Make sure you take care of that mental health, strength, so we can continue to go out there to rise peacefully with intelligence and make a solid argument. I love you guys."
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