Nevada City Counter-Protester Arrested After Violence At Black Lives Matter Protest
NEVADA CITY (CBS13) — After a violent clash at a Nevada City Black Lives Matter protest Sunday, police arrested a man they say was a primary aggressor.
What started as a peaceful protest against police brutality turned tense, and then violent last Sunday. Nevada City Police Chief Chad Ellis called the incident "outrageous" and "appalling." Police officers were present, but no arrests were made the day of the protest.
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Nevada City police say they have been working with Grass Valley police, the Nevada County Sheriff's Department and the District Attorney's Office to investigate the violent encounter between protesters and counter-protesters Sunday.
Investigators say they received multiple video clips of the incident from community members and identified several suspects. On Friday, officials identified James Steven Smith of Nevada County as one of the primary aggressors in the incident. Smith was arrested and taken to the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility.
The Nevada City Police Department says the investigation is still ongoing and additional charges are still imminent.
In a Facebook post, Chief Ellis said, "The actions demonstrated by the counter-protesters cannot and will not be tolerated in any of our local communities. There is no place for the hatred and violence which occurred in our town last Sunday, and we as a community need to stick together and flush it out."