Breonna Taylor

An armed counter protest to “restore order” in Louisville scheduled for Saturday is organized by a member of the Kentucky National Guard, according to social media posts.

“On the morning of June 27, armed freedom fighter patriots will march upon Louisville Kentucky to restore order,” the original post reads. “These Patriotic Americans will remain peaceful unless they find it necessary to defend themselves from opposition.”

The rally comes after weeks of protests against racism and police violence in Louisville after Louisville Metro Police officers killed 26 year-old Breonna Taylor in her home while serving a warrant. Gov. Andy Beshear activated the National Guard and sent members to Louisville to assist local law enforcement with the protests from May 31. The National Guard was withdrawn on June 2, the day after LMPD and Guardsmen shot at local restaurant owner David McAtee while enforcing a curfew. An investigation later determined McAtee was killed by a round fired by a member of the National Guard.

Mayor Greg Fischer announced Friday morning that Brett Hankison is getting fired after the chief found he “displayed an extreme indifference to the value of human life” when he shot Breonna Taylor.

Hankison was one of three officers who has been on paid administrative leave since the March 13 shooting, when Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was shot and killed by plainclothes LMPD officers while they were executing a warrant. Fischer said interim chief Robert Schroeder is initiating termination proceedings.

Mayor Greg Fischer has announced a more thorough review of sexual assault allegations against Louisville Metro Police officer Brett Hankison, and has asked that he be removed from his role on the Louisville Police Merit Board.

Hankison is one of three officers who fired on Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman killed by police in her home in March. He’s currently on paid administrative reassignment while the investigation into that shooting continues.

Last week, two women came forward on social media to accuse Hankison of sexual assault, and claimed there were several other victims as well.

The plain-clothes officers who killed Breonna Taylor while executing a search warrant at her home on March 13 had previously worn body cameras, a lawyer for the Taylor family claims.

In court documents filed on Tuesday, Louisville attorney Sam Aguiar alleges officers from Louisville Metro Police Department’s Criminal Interdiction Unit had been assigned body cameras, evidenced by footage from previous cases and by previous citations issued by the officers which identify the use of body cameras. 

Gov. Andy Beshear says he doesn’t regret sending the National Guard to Louisville to assist with the city’s response to protests over racism and police violence.

The National Guard was in Louisville starting on Saturday May 30, and on early Monday morning two National Guardsmen were involved in the shooting death of local barbecue chef David McAtee, who state and police officials say fired first.

The incident has sparked outrage from people across the city, state and country already protesting police violence against Black people.

A crowd gathered in Bowling Green Friday to rally for racial equality and police accountability. The march was organized by the BG Freedom Walkers, a new community organization that has only existed for about a week. It was started by a group of friends and like-minded people who wanted to do something in response to George Floyd and Breonna Taylor being killed by police. 

Floyd died in Minneapolis after a police officer pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes. Breonna Taylor was shot several times by Louisville Metro Police Officers who executed a no-knock warrant on her home. 

Hundreds of people came to the protest with homemade signs and marched from Circus Square Park to the Warren County Justice Center. 

Protesters have been calling for a statewide ban on no-knock warrants in Kentucky after a Louisville police raid that led to the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26 year-old emergency room technician who was Black.

During a joint meeting of the Kentucky legislature’s judiciary committees on Thursday, lawmakers heard testimony about Taylor’s killing, racial discrimination and the massive protests that have taken place in Louisville and across the country.

Keturah Herron, with the ACLU of Kentucky and Black Lives Matter, said that lawmakers need to start passing laws that are “equal for all people.”

Members of Owensboro’s faith community are preparing to hold a rally to show solidarity against racism and police brutality. 

The event, which will take place downtown Thursday, follows demonstrations in dozens of U.S. cities over the killing of George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.  The rally will also show support for the family of Breonna Taylor, a black Louisville woman fatally shot in her home by police serving a warrant. Rev. Rhondalyn Randolph, president of the Owensboro NAACP chapter, says faith leaders don’t condone the violence that’s taken place at some rallies.

“Violence, in the Word it says, begats violence and nothing good can come of it," Randolph said. "But there’s one thing we have gotten out of it, and that’s the attention to police brutality and racism that’s still prevalent in our country.”