A demonstration that was expected to draw thousands to the Texas State Capitol on Sunday was called off two hours before it was expected to take place.
Many people responded to the announcement on social media by saying they intended to show up anyway, and local news outlets reported that people were gathering at the Capitol.
Chas Moore, executive director of the Austin Justice Coalition, which had helped organize the demonstration, said in a Facebook video that on Saturday night, white people had been “burning stuff up in the name of Black Lives Matter” and that there were rumors that attempts would be made to hijack Sunday’s demonstration.
In general, he said, he recognized rioting as a tactic that could be used to advance the movement. But in this case, he said, agitators were using protests to bring about anarchy, so the demonstration was called off to keep black people safe, including the children and older people who were expected to attend on Sunday.
“You are using black pain, and you are using fake outrage in the name of Black Lives Matter to go deface and destroy property, which we would then get the blame for,” Mr. Moore said, referring to white provocateurs. “To those people, to those agitators, we see you, we know who you are, and we’re not going to let you co-opt and colonize this movement like you’ve done everything else.”
Robert Ginyard, another organizer, said in another Facebook video that the event was expected to draw more than 4,000 people to the Capitol, where police officers and sheriff’s deputies were positioned. “This does feel like a setup for violence,” he said.