By Oni Dhoruba (Staff Writer)
Demonstrators organized by ANWO and the Uhuru Movement met with militarized police force as unexplained atmospheric phenomenon engulfs downtown New Carthage.
LIBERTY PLAZA — What began as a community-led demonstration demanding answers for New Carthage’s missing children ended Thursday night in tear gas, mass arrests, and an event many residents are now struggling to explain.
Thousands gathered at Liberty Plaza under banners carried by the African National Women’s Organization (ANWO), the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement (InPDUM), student groups, neighborhood patrols, and families from South District communities most impacted by the disappearances.
For weeks, residents have accused city officials of suppressing information regarding the growing number of missing children cases connected to ongoing storm disturbances across New Carthage.
Thursday’s march was intended to pressure city leadership into releasing emergency records, surveillance data, and internal communications related to the disappearances.
Instead, the city answered with riot shields.
Witnesses report that heavily armed police units arrived before organizers completed their opening statements. Demonstrators were ordered to disperse shortly after ANWO representatives accused municipal leadership of abandoning Black working-class neighborhoods while increasing military-style policing throughout South District.
Minutes later, officers deployed tear gas into the crowd.
Families carrying photographs of missing children scattered through Liberty Plaza as police advanced alongside armored transit vehicles.
Several protesters described hearing “a sound like pressure building in the sky” moments before conditions across downtown abruptly changed.
Streetlights flickered.
Communication towers failed.
Strong winds swept through the plaza with enough force to overturn police barricades and emergency vehicles.
“The air started moving like it was alive.”
— Liberty Plaza witness
Videos captured by residents show dark cloud formations spiraling above the plaza while debris rotated through the streets in circular patterns inconsistent with known weather activity.
Multiple officers reportedly abandoned their positions during the disturbance.
Emergency broadcasts across downtown experienced temporary signal corruption shortly after the event began.
The city’s Office of Public Safety later dismissed the incident as “a localized atmospheric emergency intensified by unlawful public assembly.”
Residents present at the scene reject that explanation.
ANWO STATEMENT
In a statement released early Friday morning, ANWO organizers condemned what they described as “colonial policing tactics deployed against grieving Black families demanding accountability.”
“The city has spent more resources controlling protest than protecting children,” the statement reads.
“New Carthage was built through displacement, abandonment, and extraction. The same communities historically denied safety are once again being told their suffering is acceptable collateral.”
InPDUM RESPONSE
Organizers from the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement called the police response “an act of political intimidation” and demanded the immediate release of detained protesters.
“The people gathered in Liberty Plaza because the state has failed to protect our communities,” organizers said during an overnight press briefing.
“When institutions abandon the people, the people organize themselves.”
QUESTIONS REMAIN
As of Friday evening:
- 41 demonstrators remain in custody
- power outages continue across South District
- emergency transit remains suspended near Liberty Plaza
- city officials refuse to comment on storm footage circulating online
Meanwhile, residents continue reporting unusual weather activity throughout the city.
And the children are still missing.
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