Powerful Photos Show What The Kenosha Protests Have Really Looked Like

The demonstrations, which have mostly been peaceful, have resulted in the National Guard being called in after fires and incidents of property damage over the course of two nights in the Wisconsin city.

By
Kate Bubacz
by Kate Bubacz

BuzzFeed News Photo Director

Protests calling for justice for Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot by police in the back seven times, have rocked Kenosha, Wisconsin, for the past two days. Blake is in serious but stable condition. The demonstrations, which have largely been peaceful by day, have resulted in the National Guard being called in to restore order after fires and incidents of property damage have occurred at night. On Monday, the Kenosha police responded to taunts from the protesters with aggressive tactics to dispel crowds after an 8 p.m. curfew.

Kenosha is only the latest city to cry for a reckoning on police brutality and racial injustice, as protests have swept across the country this summer. Portland, Oregon; Atlanta; New York City; Washington, DC; and Minneapolis have all seen historic demonstrations this year, which started after George Floyd was killed in police custody in Minneapolis in May.

A large crowd of people walk down the street in the afternoon with signs
Kamil Krzaczynski / Getty Images

The day after Kenosha, Wisconsin, police shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, in the back multiple times, protesters march in the streets, Aug. 24.

Brandon Bell / Getty Images

A boy sits on his bike outside the Kenosha County Courthouse, where law enforcement in helmets and holding face shields are lined up to protect it, on Aug. 24.

A white woman in a small group holds a sign saying "hold cops accountable"
Kamil Krzaczynski / Getty Images

Protesters gather to demonstrate the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Aug. 24.

Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

A member of law enforcement holding a baton and face shield stands in front of the Kenosha Courthouse during protests there, Aug 24.

Morry Gash / AP

Police try to secure the Kenosha public safety building from protesters, Aug. 24.

Morry Gash / AP

A small group of Black Lives Matter protesters hold a rally on the steps of the Kenosha County Courthouse, Aug. 24.

A woman with a pink hijab speaks on a megaphone amidst a crowd
Morry Gash / AP

Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian, right, listens to a protester speaking through a megaphone, Aug. 24.

A black man from behind with his arms linked to other protesters faces off with police in riot gear in front of the courthouse
Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

Protesters square off against law enforcement in front of the Kenosha courthouse, Aug. 24.

A white woman yells while linking arms with other protesters in front of a line of police in riot gear
Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

Protesters gather in front of the Kenosha courthouse, Aug. 24.

A white police officer in riot gear and a face shield yells
Scott Olson / Getty Images

A police officer stands guard in Kenosha, Aug. 24.

Three people pound on a door with a larger crowd behind them
Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Reuters

People pound on the doors of the Kenosha Police Department, Aug. 23.

A woman holds her fist up in the air in front of a crowd of police
Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Reuters

A woman protests outside the Kenosha Police Department, Aug. 23.

Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Reuters

A protester shines a flashlight in the direction of Kenosha County Sheriff's Department deputies outside the Kenosha Police Department, Aug. 23.

A shirtless Black man uses gestures with his pointer and middle finger raised to a line of police with a crowd next to him
Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Reuters

A man confronts law enforcement outside the Kenosha Police Department, Aug. 23.

Scott Olson / Getty Images

A car tries to drive through the crowd as demonstrators protest in the streets after curfew during a second night of unrest in Kenosha, Aug. 24.

Police use batons to push back a crowd
Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Reuters

Police in riot gear confront protestors outside the Kenosha Police Department in Kenosha on Aug. 23.

Morry Gash / AP

Police face off with protesters near the Kenosha courthouse, Aug. 24.

David Goldman / AP

Police attempt to push back protesters outside the Kenosha courthouse, Aug. 24.

Brandon Bell / Getty Images

A young boy raises his fist out of the window of a car during a march in Kenosha, Aug. 24.

A man stands with a sign reading "stop police violence, black lives matter"
Brandon Bell / Getty Images

A man stands amid tear gas during a protest on Aug. 24 in Kenosha.

Two police in riot gear stand in front of a burning building
Brandon Bell / Getty Images

An armored vehicle patrols an intersection, Aug. 24, in Kenosha.

David Goldman / AP

A protester attempts to continue standing through a cloud of tear gas that was fired by police outside the Kenosha County Courthouse, Aug. 24.

Spraypaint on the outside wall of the courthouse reads, "They kill us because they fear us. Honor the dead."
David Goldman / AP

Police in riot gear stand outside the Kenosha County Courthouse, where protesters have spraypainted graffiti, Aug. 24,

Morry Gash / AP

Police stand near a Kenosha Department of Corrections building that was set on fire during protests, Aug. 24.

Morry Gash / AP

An aerial view of more than a dozen burned-out vehicles Kenosha, Aug. 24.

A woman holds a small American flag and a cardboard sign that says god + law + order
Scott Olson / Getty Images

A woman is surrounded by burned-out vehicles in a Kenosha used car lot, Aug. 24.

A protester with a sign that says "what if it was your kid!"
Morry Gash / AP

A protester sits on a car in stopped traffic, Aug. 24, in Kenosha.

Brandon Bell / Getty Images

A boy sits on a bike with a fire raging behind him, Aug. 24 in Kenosha.