ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Hundreds of cloth face masks being sent to protesters supporting the "Black Lives Matter" movement in St. Louis have been seized by law enforcement and so far, no explanation has been given as to why.
The Movement for Black Lives, a group that began in 2014 after the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., bought the masks to protect demonstrators and was sending them to Minneapolis, New York City, Washington and here in St. Louis. The group claimed in an Instagram post that, "Law enforcement has seized these masks and are not stating why!"
According to the Huffington Post, the items never left the state and the packages' tracking numbers with the U.S. Postal Service say they were "Seized by Law Enforcement" and ask the mailer to "contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for further information." HuffPost says the U.S. Postal Inspection Service did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Update! Law enforcement has seized these masks and are not stating why! When your called to support you step up or step back. Sending energy and prayers to those on the front lines! Right on community appreciation to all of you interested in supporting please hit up @thepalmtreepapi if your interested in supporting! @mvmnt4blklives
A post shared by Movement-Ink (@themovementink) on Jun 3, 2020 at 4:44pm PDT
The four boxes each contained 500 masks that say "stop killing black people" and "defund police" were mailed from Oakland, California, according to the HuffPost.
Earlier this week, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page urged all protesters who weren't wearing masks to self-quarantine for 14 days to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
There are a few protests planned today across the region, from St. Louis city to Washington, Missouri:
- 4 p.m. starting at the St. Louis County Library on South Lindbergh across from Plaza Frontenac.
- 4 p.m. at Taubman Outlets in the Chesterfield Valley.
- 3 p.m. outside the Washington Police Department in Washington, Mo.
- 4 p.m. at Ladue City Hall along Clayton Road to Route 141.
- 5 p.m. at S. Grand Boulevard and Flora Ct. is a silent protest sponsored by St. Margaret of Scotland.
- 6:30 p.m. is a march for black trans people at Manchester and Boyle Avenues.
- 7:30 p.m. is a march from Mid Rivers Mall to St. Peters City Hall.
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