RALEIGH — Protesting, chanting and marching. Property damage, arson and rioting. This was the oscillating pattern in downtown Raleigh over the weekend of May 30 to June 1 in 2020 following the death of George Floyd.
Each night, the protests gave way to riots, with businesses and government buildings damaged and looted, public property vandalized and arson, including a drugstore set ablaze.
North State Journal (NSJ) has learned from former law enforcement officers who were in Raleigh helping to quell the rioting that then-Gov. Roy Cooper was evacuated from the Executive Mansion to outside the city during the unrest…