Tuesday morning in Uptown Charlotte saw a group of around 200 protesters in what became a makeshift campsite at the intersection of Stonewall Street and Caldwell Street. The protesters were calling for the release of Bradley Manning, an American Army soldier who is accused of leaking classified government information to WikiLeaks, an international whistle-blower website. Many of the protesters in the march included United States veterans, who wanted government to take more action to assist veterans in need.
Protesters were making the march down Stonewall Street toward College Street when a group of around 300 law enforcement officials stepped in. In an attempt to keep the march from moving further down Stonewall Street, the officers blocked off the entire intersection of Stonewall and Caldwell by surrounding the protesters.
In response, some of those in the march set up tents to create a makeshift campsite in the intersection. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Chief-of-Police Monroe, who was present during the march, stated that authorities would not rush to move or otherwise provoke the protesters. Police officers have re-routed traffic so as to avoid the intersection.
