Stop the Sweeps Advocates Confront Police in Reno

This is a podcast rundown of a stop the sweeps protest today June 7th, 2021 in Reno when protestors faced off against police. I’m Nico Colombant the coordinator for the Our Town Reno multimedia initiative. As people chanted, outreach workers started arriving first, speaking to people unhoused laying on the grass at Believe Plaza. I interrupted Erika Minaberry doing a Facebook Live to ask about her insights with tensions rising. Then the police arrived. They had issued a notice for the advocates to vacate by noon. Lily Baran and others explained it was a free speech vigil protest and not a camping situation. At first police and a city official said they wanted to offer resources to those camping in the Believe Plaza area. Tensions rose at the protest site as advocates for the unhoused weren’t sure what police would do next. After talking separately with Lily Baran, one officer said he would be back the next day during his early shift. The crowd taunted police as they left while Baran and then Ilya Arbatman, another advocate, gave us their observations on the quickly unfolding situation.