About an hour before the Black men were pulled over, boogaloo leader Mike Dunn hoisted a megaphone alongside about 10 members of his “Last Sons of Liberty” group, all white men.
Dunn told the assembled reporters and police that his group was openly carrying semiautomatic rifles “in pure defiance” of local laws, and “rocking mags (ammunition magazines) with double the legal limit.”
Dunn confirmed to Reuters that his group faced no police blowback.
City law allows police to ban openly carrying guns at large public events, but they did not intervene against most gun owners on Monday.
“Virginia is and remains an open carry state,” Richmond police said in a statement.
The demonstrators, including boogaloos sporting their trademark Hawaiian shirts, Proud Boys, and about 20 members of two Black self-defense groups were outnumbered by reporters.
Despite being united in their support for gun rights, racial tensions were visible.
Members of the Black Lives Matter 757 and Original Black Panthers of VA were talking to reporters near the Richmond statehouse when a group of Proud Boys walked by flashing the “OK” hand gesture commonly used as a white power sign.
