Sheriff’s Office enforces county code 262 against protesters at courthouse

June 10, 2020 – Bloomington, Indiana USA: A protester makes a fist in defiance as members of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office stand on the grounds of the Monroe County Courthouse while enforcing county code Chapter 262, early Wednesday, June 10, 2020. The code states that the hours of the courthouse are from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Activists protesting against the killing of George Floyd, and police brutality have been at the site for more than a week while protesting and demanding the defunding of police. Floyd’s funeral was Tuesday. (Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)

After most protesters went home for the night at least 10 members of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the Monroe County Courthouse to make protesters leave the grounds. Chapter 262 of the county code sets the courthouse ground’s hours from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and deputies, and Sheriff Brad Swain, stood on the courthouse lawn to enforce it.

At least 150 protesters had stood on the sidewalk, and courthouse grounds, after they were told the Sheriff’s Office would arrive at 10:01 p.m. to enforce the code.

A few minutes after 10:01 p.m. protesters began a dance party, but most had left the area by midnight. A while later, the Sheriff’s Office arrived, and there were no arrests or citations written by 2:30 a.m., but the lawn was cleared of protesters, and a few people experiencing homelessness who were staying in tents pitched on the grass.