Mulch bags block the enterances to Walmart after it closed early in precaution for looters on the one week anniversary of George Floyd's death Monday night in Chehalis.
Mulch bags block the enterances to Walmart after it closed early in precaution for looters on the one week anniversary of George Floyd's death Monday night in Chehalis.
The Chehalis Walmart barricaded its doors with stacked bags of mulch or sand on Monday night in an effort to deter looting but small business owners in the Centralia and Chehalis downtown areas said they have not experienced problems with looting nor are they too concerned.
“I think that probably there are some people stirring up that fear factor which is more cause for concern for me. It’s fueling an already heightened anxiety about a lot of things. Everything I have seen locally has been very peaceful and of a caring community so that’s what I’m focused on,” said Rebecca Staebler on Tuesday afternoon, owner of Hubbub in downtown Centralia and a Centralia City Councilor.
On Monday evening, more than 300 peaceful protesters gathered outside of the Lewis County Courthouse in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, the second of two protests that have occurred in the Twin Cities within the past week.
The protests were sparked in Lewis County and across the country in major U.S. cities by the death of Geroge Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, who was killed on May 25 by a white Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, who kneeled on Floyd’s neck, as Floyd declared “I can’t breath”, until his death, according to a New York Times article. Floyd was in police custody after being accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill.
The protests following George Floyd’s death in many cities including Seattle and Portland have not remained peaceful as fires were lit, stores were looted and police officers used tear gas in an effort to control the crowds, according to articles published by The Seattle Times and The Oregonian.
Business owners in Centralia and Chehalis said that they are not worried about protests getting to the level of destruction or looting that is occurring in larger cities.
“I was aware of a few concerns last night and this morning but I have had no indication of any problems and I am not taking any unusual precautions other than being aware of who’s walking around and who’s coming into the store,” Staebler said.
Eric Brunswig, owner of Brunswig’s Shoe Store in downtown Chehalis said it has been business as usual at his store. When asked if he thought looting could occur at his store he said that he didn’t think there would be a problem in Lewis County.
“I don’t think so, not in Lewis County. I mean maybe if the people who are burning down Seattle and Portland come here but I can’t see anything happening in Chehalis,” he said.
The owner of M & K Town Store in downtown Chehalis and Chehalis City Councilor, Jerry Lord, said that he hasn’t noticed any suspicious activity or threats of looting in downtown Chehalis and has no plans to close his store early.
“I stayed open until the usual 8 o’clock last night. … Walmart has a lot of stuff that looters might want. I don’t think there’s too much downtown that would be targeted,” he said.
He said that most businesses in Chehalis close at 6 p.m. so there wouldn’t be much reason for them to close any earlier as a precaution for possible looting.
“We’re not too worried over here. We just want everyone to be safe and for their voices to be heard,” said Jessie Wilson, a long-time employee at Old Toby, a recreational marijuana dispensary in Chehalis regarding the peaceful protest that occurred outside of the Lewis County Courthouse on Monday evening.
