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(WAUKESHA, Wis.) — Five people were killed and more than 40 were hurt when an SUV barreled into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

Children are among the injured.

A person of interest is in custody, authorities said.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Nov 22, 4:37 pm
Suspect previously arrested for running woman over with SUV, court records show

Darrell Brooks, the suspect accused of driving into a Christmas parade on Sunday, killing five, was arrested last month for using a 2010 maroon Ford Escape to run over the mother of his child, according to court documents.

This appears to be the same vehicle used to plow through the parade.

In early November, a woman told police Brooks had pulled up beside her following an earlier domestic dispute and instructed her to get into his car, the documents said. When she refused, Brooks hit her in the face with a closed fist, according to the criminal complaint.

As she walked away through a gas station parking lot, Brooks “intentionally” ran her over with his car, the complaint said.

Brooks, 39,  is set to make his first court appearance on Tuesday in connection to Sunday’s incident. He is charged with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide, police said.

-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky

Nov 22, 3:00 pm
81-year-old, 79-year-old among the 5 killed

An 81-year-old man, Wilhelm Hospel, and a 79-year-old woman, Virginia Sorenson, were among the five killed, police said at a news conference. The other victims were 71-year-old LeAnna Owen, 52-year-old Tamara Durand and 52-year-old Jane Kulich.

The suspect, 39-year-old Darrell Brooks, is charged with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide, police said. More charges are possible, police said.

The suspect was involved in a domestic disturbance minutes prior to the deadly crash, police said.

Besides the five killed, 48 were hurt when the suspect “intentionally drove his maroon SUV through barricades into a crowd of people,” police said.

One officer fired shots to try to stop the driver, but stopped shooting because so many parade-goers were present, police said. No one was hurt by the gunfire and the officer is on administrative leave, police said.

Police said the suspect acted alone and this was not a terrorist event.

Officials said this “Norman Rockwell-type Christmas parade” has been held for decades.

Nov 22, 1:43 pm
Biden says he prays ‘spirit’ of Thanksgiving will ‘lift up’ families

In his first comments on the deadly crash, President Joe Biden said Monday, “While we don’t have all the facts and details yet, we know this morning that five families in Waukesha are facing fresh grief of a life without a loved one.”

“At least 40 Americans are suffering from injuries, some of them in critical condition, and an entire community is struggling, struggling to cope with the horrific act of violence,” Biden said.

“Last night, the people of Waukesha were gathered to celebrate the start of a season of hope and togetherness and Thanksgiving,” he continued. “This morning, Jill and I and the entire Biden family, and I’m sure all of us, pray that that same spirit is going to embrace and lift up all the victims of this tragedy, bringing recovery from the injuries and wrapping the families of those who died in support of their community.”

The administration is “monitoring the situation very closely,” Biden added.

-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky

Nov 22, 1:22 pm
Person held by police is 39-year-old Darrell Brooks

The person being held by police is 39-year-old Darrell Brooks, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News. Brooks has not been charged with a crime in connection with the parade incident nor has he been named a suspect.

-ABC News’ Pierre Thomas, Josh Margolin, Luke Barr, Aaron Katersky

Nov 22, 12:29 pm
6 kids in critical condition

Ten of the 18 children taken to Children’s Wisconsin hospital were admitted to the ICU, including six children in critical condition, hospital officials said.

Three of the ICU patients are in serious condition and one is in fair condition.

Another eight patients were admitted in fair conditions and two of the 18 children have since been discharged, officials said.

The hospitalized children range in age from 3 to 16 and include three sets of siblings, officials said. Injuries include serious head injuries and broken bones.

Six children were sent to the operating room Sunday night and another two children will undergo surgery on Monday, officials said.

-ABC News’ Josh Hoyos

Nov 22, 11:23 am
Man recounts ‘SUV hurtling towards me’

Brayden Kowalski was at the parade in Waukesha, which he described as “a very loving community,” when he “saw about a block away, the SUV hurtling towards me.”

He pulled his nephews, ages 4 and 6, out of the vehicle’s path at the last minute. The SUV was about 5 feet away, Kowalski said.

Kowalski said he “was fear-stricken, but I just, I tried the best I could to help,” escorting people from the street over to the sidewalks.

Of the driver, he said, “I don’t know if they were targeting people, but they for sure weren’t dodging people. “

Nov 22, 11:07 am
18 treated at children’s hospital

Children’s Wisconsin, the pediatric trauma center for the area, has treated 18 children following the crash, hospital officials said.

Nov 22, 10:55 am
Driver may have been fleeing previous incident

Based on video evidence and interviews, investigators’ preliminary assessment is that the driver wasn’t aiming at specific parade participants but was speeding through the route to flee an earlier incident, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Authorities scoured social media and other digital platforms associated with the person of interest overnight. At this point authorities have no reason to believe there is any connection to radicalization, extremism or the ongoing debate about the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict, the sources said.

-ABC News’ Josh Margolin, Luke Barr, Aaron Katersky

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(WASHINGTON) — More than 90% of the nation’s 3.5 million federal workers have gotten at least one COVID shot with the “vast majority” of employees fully vaccinated and another 5% either requesting an extension or exemption, the Biden administration was expected to announce on Monday.

Officials said the numbers — which include civilian and military personnel — show the government won’t see disruptions this holiday season in because of the mandate.

It’s still unclear though exactly how many workers in critical jobs like border patrol, prisons and airport security have sought medical or religious exemptions. It also wasn’t immediately clear when those employees would run out of options if denied, with agencies just now beginning the counseling process but given ample leeway to decide how to handle workers who refuse to get a shot.

“There won’t be disruptions to government services and operations,” said a senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity in advance of an announcement later Monday. “At each step of this process we’ll see even more employees getting vaccinated.”

Overall, the White House says 95% of employees total are “in compliance,” meaning they either have at least one dose or have filed a medical or religious exemption or asked for an extension, said the official. That includes 93% of workers at the Transportation Security Administration.

The White House Office of Management and Budget was expected to release more details on Wednesday, including a breakdown of vaccination rates by agency.

The mandate is the nation’s first test of President Joe Biden’s insistence that employer requirements work. Biden has proposed a separate Jan. 4 mandate that would apply to federal contractors and health care workers.

He also has proposed that businesses with 100 or more employees mandate vaccines or weekly testing; that regulation by the Labor Department is on hold pending a review by a federal appeals court.

Under Biden’s plan, more than 2 million civilian workers were supposed to have gotten their final vaccine dose two weeks ago so as to be considered “fully immunized” by Monday’s deadline. The White House has not released estimates yet on how many of those employees did so.

Military personnel face their own deadlines depending upon their service branch.

ABC News’ Luke Barr contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.1 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 771,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Just 59.1% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here’s how the new is developing. All times Eastern:

Nov 22, 10:01 am
TSA vaccine mandate won’t impact holiday travel

About 93% of TSA employees are in compliance with Monday’s deadline for the federal employee vaccine mandate, TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said.

“In compliance” means employees have had at least one shot or have filed for a medical or religious exemption.

Holiday travel won’t be impacted by the mandate, Farbstein said.

-ABC News’ Gio Benitez, Anne Flaherty

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(BRUNSWICK, Ga.) — A jury is expected to begin deliberating the fates of three white Georgia men charged in the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery after first hearing final arguments on Monday that the 25-year-old Black man was either “hunted down” and murdered or was killed in self-defense when he resisted a citizens’ arrest.

The radically different theories based on the same evidence are expected to be laid out in closing arguments set to commence Monday morning in Glynn County Superior Court in Brunswick, Georgia. The closing arguments are expected to take all day as the prosecutor and attorneys for the three defendants are each expected to speak to the jury.

The jury is expected to begin deliberations on Tuesday morning.

Travis McMichael, the 35-year-old U.S. Coast Guard veteran; his father, Gregory McMichael, 65, a retired Glynn County police officer, and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, 53, each face maximum sentences of life in prison if convicted on all the charges.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty to a nine-count state indictment that includes malice murder, multiple charges of felony murder, false imprisonment, aggravated assault with a 12-gauge shotgun and aggravated assault with their pickup trucks.

The McMichaels and Bryan were also indicted on federal hate crime charges in April and have all pleaded not guilty.

The charges stem from a Feb. 23, 2020, confrontation in the Stella Shores neighborhood near Brunswick, Georgia. Lead prosecutor Linda Dunikoski alleged in her opening statement that a series of wrong “assumptions and driveway decisions” led the men to surmise that the Black man she said was just jogging through their neighborhood on a balmy Sunday afternoon was a burglar they needed to detain at gunpoint.

Travis McMichael was the only defendant to testify during the nationally-televised trial.

He described a “life-or-death” encounter with Arbery and claimed he had no choice but to shoot the man with his Remington pump-action shotgun. He also conceded under cross-examination that Arbery never verbally threatened him or his co-defendants nor did he brandished a weapon during the five minutes Dunikoski said Arbery was running for his life.

During the trial, prosecutors relied heavily on a cellphone video recorded by Bryan. The video repeatedly played for the jury showed the unarmed Arbery trapped between Bryan’s pickup and Travis McMichael’s truck and partly captured a struggle that ended with Travis Michael shooting Arbery.

The trial, which began on Nov. 5, began with controversy when a jury of 11 white members and one Black member was seated to hear the case after a nearly three-week jury selection process.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(BRUNSWICK, Ga.) — A jury is expected to begin deliberating the fates of three white Georgia men charged in the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery after first hearing final arguments on Monday that the 25-year-old Black man was either “hunted down” and murdered or was killed in self-defense when he resisted a citizens’ arrest.

The radically different theories based on the same evidence are expected to be laid out in closing arguments set to commence Monday morning in Glynn County Superior Court in Brunswick, Georgia. The closing arguments are expected to take all day as the prosecutor and attorneys for the three defendants are each expected to speak to the jury.

The jury is expected to begin deliberations on Tuesday morning.

Travis McMichael, the 35-year-old U.S. Coast Guard veteran; his father, Gregory McMichael, 65, a retired Glynn County police officer, and their neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, 53, each face maximum sentences of life in prison if convicted on all the charges.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty to a nine-count state indictment that includes malice murder, multiple charges of felony murder, false imprisonment, aggravated assault with a 12-gauge shotgun and aggravated assault with their pickup trucks.

The McMichaels and Bryan were also indicted on federal hate crime charges in April and have all pleaded not guilty.

Here’s how the news developed. All times Eastern:

Nov 22, 10:17 am
Prosecutor says defendants attacked Arbery because he was Black

Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski began her closing argument by telling the jury that the three defendants chased and killed Arbery based on “assumptions and decisions” made in their driveways based on rumor and neighborhood gossip.

“The state’s position is all three of these defendants made assumptions, made assumptions about what was going on that day and they made their decision to attack Ahmaud Arbery in their driveways because he was a Black man running down the street,” Dunikoski said.

She stressed that the “bottom line” is that the defendants assumed Arbery had committed a crime “because he was running real fast down the street.”

“They did not call 911. They wanted to stop him and ‘question’ him before they called 911,” she said. “How do we know that? Because that is what they told the police that night.”

She asked the jury to closely consider the evidence she said shows beyond reasonable doubt that the men committed murder.

“This is your search for the truth,” Dunikoski told the jury. “You are Glynn County.”

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(WAUKESHA, Wis.) — At least five people were killed and more than 40 others injured on Sunday when a car plowed into a Christmas parade in Wisconsin, according to authorities.

The incident occurred at around 4:39 p.m. local time in Waukesha, about 17 miles west of Milwaukee. The vehicle allegedly associated with the incident — a red SUV — has since been recovered and a person of interest was taken into custody, Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said at a press conference Sunday evening.

Thompson said an officer, who has been with the Waukesha Police Department for over 6 years, discharged their weapon in order to stop the car, but no bystanders were hit.

The investigation into the event is ongoing, and it was unclear if there was any connection to terrorism.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers described the incident as a “senseless act.”

“I’m grateful for the first responders and folks who acted quickly,” Evers wrote on Twitter on Sunday evening.

A number of people from the scene, including at least 12 children, were taken to various local hospitals, according to Thompson, who at the time only confirmed “some fatalities.” A statement from the City of Waukesha later confirmed there were five people dead and over 40 injured.

“However, these numbers may change as we collect additional information,” the city noted in the statement late Sunday night. “Many people have self-transported to area hospitals.”

Authorities are working to identify the victims and notify their next of kin.

Several of the injured, including some in critical condition, were admitted to Children’s Wisconsin in Milwaukee and Aurora Medical Center in Summit, Wisconsin, about 15 miles west of Waukesha, according to separate statements from the hospitals.

A Catholic priest, multiple parishioners and Catholic schoolchildren were among the wounded, according to Sandra Peterson, communications director of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

“Please join us in prayer for all those involved, their families, and those who are traumatized from witnessing the horrible scene,” Peterson said in a statement on Sunday night.

Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow said he and his wife had just finished participating in the Christmas parade when they heard police sirens.

“Shortly afterward, I learned that a vehicle drove through the parade route injuring many people,” Farrow wrote in a series of posts on Twitter on Sunday evening. “This is an unspeakable tragedy, affecting us all as we work to overcome an extremely challenging two years and resume our cherished holiday traditions. Keep the families affected in your thoughts as we work to offer whatever support we can.”

Waukesha Fire Department Chief Steven Howard told reporters that his department was marching in the parade when the incident happened. A dozen local fire departments assisted in the response, according to Howard.

The City of Waukesha urged members of the community “to come together during this time and to keep the families in your prayers.”

“Many people witnessed traumatic events this evening,” the city said in a statement on Sunday night.

The Waukesha Police Department issued a shelter-in-place order on Sunday evening for those within a half-mile radius of the downtown area. The scene was marked secure later that night, according to Thompson.

Still, roads in the area will be closed for at least the next 24 hours. Public schools in Waukesha will also be closed on Monday, Thompson said.

In a statement Sunday night, the Waukesha School District confirmed that Monday’s classes were cancelled for all students and that a decision regarding Tuesday’s classes “will be determined during the day on Monday.”

“Several of our administrative staff and principals met this evening following the tragic event that occurred at the City of Waukesha Christmas Parade,” the school district said. “”At this time, we are working with the police department to more fully comprehend all of the tragic details of this unfortunate event.”

The City of Waukesha said “the scene is still fluid” and that the street where the event took place will not reopen before mid-day on Monday.

“Businesses in this area should remain closed as entry and exit from Main Street will not be allowed,” the city added in its statement. “When the area is open, the City is requesting that any items for a temporary memorial be placed at Veterans Park.”

A spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Investigation told ABC News that the agency’s Milwaukee field office “is aware of the reporting of an incident in Waukesha.”

“The local and state authorities are leading the response,” the FBI spokesperson said.

U.S. President Joe Biden was briefed on the Waukesha incident on Sunday night, according to the White House.

A White House official told ABC News that they are “closely monitoring the situation in Waukesha.”

“Our hearts go out to everyone who has been impacted by this terrible incident,” the official added. “We have reached out to state and local officials to offer any support and assistance as needed.”

ABC News’ Jack Date, Matt Foster, Will Gretsky, Molly Nagle, Victor Ordonez and Darren Reynolds contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(ATLANTA) — A passenger accidentally discharged a gun at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Saturday, airport officials said, causing panic and sending travelers onto the tarmac on one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.

The incident occurred around 1:30 pm local time at the security screening area, the airport said in an update on Twitter.

“There is not an active shooter,” the airport said. “There is no danger to passengers or employees.”

A passenger accidentally discharged the gun at the main checkpoint, TSA said in a statement to ABC News.

During a bag search, the X-ray identified a prohibited item, TSA said.

The transportation security officer “advised the passenger not to touch the property, and as he opened the compartment containing the prohibited item, the passenger lunged into the bag and grabbed a firearm, at which point it discharged,” TSA said. “The passenger then fled the area, running out of the airport exit.”

Three people sustained non-life-threatening injuries, likely during the airport evacuation, a TSA spokesperson said.

Atlanta Police Department was on site investigating the incident.

About two hours after the discharge, the airport was given an “all-clear” to resume normal operations, airport officials said.

The shooting caused chaos and confusion. Videos taken by travelers showed the panicked moments after the discharge, with people running out of the terminal. Other travelers could be seen huddled lying on the ground.

Travelers reported being stuck on the tarmac or in baggage claim after the incident, Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB reported.

TSA said its officers have detected more than 450 firearms at the Atlanta airport’s checkpoints so far this year.

“This incident underscores the importance of checking personal belongings for dangerous items before leaving for the airport,” TSA said in a statement. “Firearms, particularly loaded firearms, introduce an unnecessary risk at checkpoints, have no place in the passenger cabin of an airplane, and represent a very costly mistake for the passengers who attempt to board a flight with them.”

The incident occurred during what is shaping up to be the busiest travel weekend since the start of the pandemic due to Thanksgiving — at the busiest airport in the United States.

Transportation Security Administration officers screened 2,242,956 people at airport security checkpoints nationwide Friday — the “highest checkpoint volume since passenger volume tanked in early 2020 as a result of the pandemic,” TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said.

ABC News’ Victoria Arancio and Joshua Hoyos contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(ATLANTA) — There was an accidental gun discharge at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Saturday, airport officials said, causing panic and sending travelers onto the tarmac on one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.

The incident occurred around 1:30 pm local time at the security screening area, the airport said in an update on Twitter.

“There is not an active shooter,” the airport said. “There is no danger to passengers or employees.”

No injuries have been reported, according to the Atlanta Police Department, which was on site investigating the incident.

About two hours after the discharge, the airport was given an “all-clear” to resume normal operations, airport officials said.

No further details on the shooting, including who discharged the gun, have been released at this time.

The shooting caused chaos and confusion. Videos taken by travelers showed the panicked moments after the discharge, with people running out of the terminal. Other travelers could be seen huddled lying on the ground.

Travelers reported being stuck on the tarmac or in baggage claim after the incident, according to Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB.

The incident occurred during what is shaping up to be the busiest travel weekend since the start of the pandemic due to Thanksgiving — at the busiest airport in the United States.

Transportation Security Administration officers screened 2,242,956 people at airport security checkpoints nationwide Friday — the “highest checkpoint volume since passenger volume tanked in early 2020 as a result of the pandemic,” TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said.

ABC News’ Victoria Arancio and Joshua Hoyos contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(CHICAGO) — The story of De’Janay Stanton’s death is one that many transgender women in Chicago fear. The 24-year-old Black transgender woman was shot and killed by a romantic interest in 2018, and since then more and more stories like hers have come to light — in her city and across the U.S.

“They want to date our girls in darkness — they don’t want to be in public,” said her sister, Chimera Griffin. “She never expressed danger to me, but me, being a mom, I always knew something was gonna be bad because of society. In society, they’re so cruel.”

So far this year, the Human Rights Campaign has recorded four Black trans women being murdered in Chicago among at least 47 transgender or gender non-conforming people killed nationwide. But local activists say many more cases likely go unreported.

“We don’t have good statistics on the violence that Black trans women experience,” said Kim Fountain, chief administrative officer of the Center on Halsted, the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ social services agency. “If you don’t have those numbers, then it’s really hard to get a system to move on anything.”

Chicago has seen the most trans deaths so far in 2021, up from two in 2020.

On Trans Day of Remembrance, Nov. 20, families, activists and the trans community in Chicago are planning to reflect on the culture of fear, victimization and violence against trans people in their city — and the lack of accountability for the killers of these women.

“They were never afforded the dignity that human beings should be afforded,” said Jae Rice of local LGBTQ activist group Brave Space Alliance. “As long as we’re not afforded that dignity while we’re living, our deaths will never be something to be dignified at all.”

Honoring trans women

Stanton’s family found out about her death over Instagram live. A video captured Stanton, dead with a gunshot wound to her head, lying next to her car on Aug. 13. Someone who found Stanton’s body posted the video, telling the community to “check on their people,” according to Stanton’s sister, Chiquita Griffin.

Her death was ruled a homicide, and Tremon T. Hill has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the killing. It’s unclear whether Hill has legal representation.

Stanton is remembered by her family through her jokes, her fashion and her widespread social circle.

“You would never catch her in a bad spirit or bad mood because she always wanted to be, like, the face of happiness,” Griffin recalled. “A lot of trans women were sad, or they had to be tough, or they had to be on their toes all the time. She was on her toes all the time, but she was happy.”

Her happiness and her vibrancy created a safe haven for people around her, her sisters added, and their house became a place for women like Stanton to feel at home.

“So many girls, their families just throw them away, and just didn’t want to bother with them because they were transitioning into who they wanted to be,” Griffin said. “So she brought them all to my house.”

The trans community in Chicago is small, Griffin continued, but the women killed this year — 28-year-old Tyianna Alexander, 24-year-old Tiara Banks, 32-year-old Disaya Monaee, and 25-year-old Briana Hamilton — were loved and known by many, including Stanton’s family.

“These girls need more help,” Griffin said. “Not to mention the girls, the young ones, the next generation. They’re afraid to come out and be accepted in society, you know?”

According to the Chicago Department of Public Health, transgender and gender non-conforming adults in the state are more likely to report psychological distress than cisgender peers.

Trans individuals also are more likely to experience discrimination, harassment, economic hardship and violence, the CDPH reports.

Intersection of gun violence and transphobia

Of the 10 women killed and reported to the HRC in Chicago since 2015, eight were killed with a gun.

Gun violence in Chicago isn’t new: This year alone, the city has racked up more than 3,000 shootings, according to Chicago Police Department data.

Rice, of Brave Space Alliance, blames hypermasculinity as a root cause for much of the gun violence, transphobia and anti-trans crimes in Chicago. Toxic masculinity, the idea that violence, aggression and having power over another is an inherent part of manhood, often leads to men committing the vast majority of gun violence.

Rice says there is a prevalence of hypermasculinity, toxic masculinity and anti-LGBTQ sentiment in communities of color, like Chicago. Stigmas against queerness and femininity among men has led to the targeting of women like Stanton.

“Their manhood is now taken into question — if you’re sleeping with or are romantically engaged with a trans woman … there are so many messages out there that are telling you trans women aren’t women, when we know that’s not the case,” Rice said.

Stanton’s is one of very few trans killings in Chicago where a suspect has been charged. No one’s been charged in connection with the other three this year.

Brave Space Alliance, Griffin and others closely affected by this violence are working to get justice for other murdered trans people, pushing for resources to be allocated to the thorough investigation of these deaths.

Fixing a broken system

Local authorities, including the mayor’s office and the CPD, have implemented strategies to address violence and discrimination against the community.

Following years of complaints about Chicago police mishandling incidents involving transgender, intersex and gender-nonconforming people, CPD took steps to implement its “Interaction with Transgender, Intersex and Gender Nonconforming Individuals” policy in 2016, revising it this year after gathering public input via an online forum created in June.

CPD did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment on the status of the policy.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office also has created a “Citywide Strategic Plan” to address gender-based violence and human trafficking, which she said she plans on implementing over the next two years.

The plan includes increasing capacity within city departments to address these issue, coordinating prevention and intervention efforts, and exploring alternate responses to these cases outside of the criminal justice system.

The mayor’s office did not respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.

In the meantime, local organizers, like Center on Halstead and Brave Space Alliance, are taking matters into their own hands.

According to Fountain, the Center on Halstead hosts local LGBTQ family groups to discuss city concerns, offers resources and financial aid to those in need, and holds community-based anti-violence projects and trainings.

Brave Space Alliance is the first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ+ center on the city’s South Side, and it relies on community funding and donations to hold programs for trans Chicagoans who need help.

“If we fix our systems to support Black trans women, then a significant part of our culture, of our society, will be lifted up as well,” Fountain said. “That just speaks to how much oppression and how much bias, stigma, danger and harm they have experienced.”

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(PORTLAND, Ore.) — Demonstrations sprang up nationwide in protest of the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict Friday night, after a Wisconsin jury found the 18-year-old not guilty for the killing of two men and the wounding of another during political unrest in Kenosha last summer.

The verdict sparked outrage among those who feared an acquittal would embolden vigilantism, and anger in the families of the men shot who were seeking accountability and justice. Others, including pro-gun conservatives, have hailed Rittenhouse as a hero who was protecting private property from rioters.

In Kenosha, protesters gathered outside the courthouse, reacting in anger and frustration to the verdict. Outside a local church, pastors led residents in a prayer vigil Friday night, with some toting signs that said “Heal Kenosha.”

“Profoundly disappointed, sad, angry, crying, grieving and also looking to the future. Like OK, we’ve got work to do,” Rev. Monica Cummings, of Bradford Community Church, told Reuters of the mood that night. “And at the top of the list is healing. Our community can now begin the long process of healing and looking at how we want to be as a community together.”

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers had activated some 500 National Guard members to be on standby to support public safety efforts if needed, though there were no major clashes reported in the wake of the verdict.

In Portland, Oregon, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office declared a riot “after a violent, destructive group began to breach the gate into the Multnomah County Detention Center,” the Portland Police Bureau said in a statement.

About two dozen people had gathered in front of the gate around 9 p.m. local time, with some allegedly heard saying, “Burn it down,” according to the sheriff’s office.

The rear window of a Portland Police vehicle was shattered, as well as the windows on a local business, during the incident, according to police.

Police issued five citations and 17 warnings, and one person was arrested for a warrant, authorities said.

Meanwhile, in New York City, hundreds of demonstrators marched across the Brooklyn Bridge and gathered outside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, holding signs with photos of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, the two men Rittenhouse killed.

Nearly 100 people took to the streets of Oakland, California, shouting “Revolution nothing else” while marching in response to the verdict, ABC San Francisco station KGO reported.

Demonstrators also gathered in Chicago to denounce the acquittal.

Rittenhouse pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, first-degree reckless homicide and first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide.

During his testimony, Rittenhouse said he shot Rosenbaum, Huber and Gaige Grosskreutz, who survived, in self-defense.

“I didn’t intend to kill them. I intended to stop the people who were attacking me,” Rittenhouse repeatedly said, at one point breaking down and sobbing on the witness stand.

Rittenhouse feels “a huge sense of relief,” his attorney, Mark Richards, told reporters Friday, adding, “He wishes none of this ever happened.”

The ruling in the closely watched trial prompted a response from President Joe Biden, who said in a statement, “While the verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken.”

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