Hired, armed guards spotted & chants to defund the police during Saturday night downtown

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    ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — After several days of uncertainty, business continued as usual in downtown Asheville on Saturday, aside from flyers put up calling to defund the police department, armed guards being spotted, and some vehicles driving around with ‘Trump 2020’ flags.

One couple News 13 spoke with said they were surprised to see armed guards outside of one business. The couple said they were visiting Asheville for the day and that the armed individuals told them they were working with a security company called “Double Tap, LLC” to protect property in downtown.

The armed guards were not affiliated with the police department. They did say they were hired by a business owner to protect two businesses, one of which was “Off The Wagon Dueling Piano Bar Asheville.”

“We see these four guys, they’re in military gear and stuff,” Carl Spieldogle, a man visiting Asheville, said. “So, I took a little video of them. They said they were here to protect the property and they were dividing up. It just seems weird to have people with their hands on the trigger, walking down with guns. Guns and protests are not good. Period.”

City officials had alerted businesses earlier in the week after organizers with “DefundAVLPD” called for a ‘decentralized day of action’ on Sept. 19. The ‘call to action’ came days before city council is set to vote on the budget, which includes a proposal to cut the police department’s budge by $770,000.

“DefundAVLPD’s” Instagram post called for disruption of downtown tourism, as it claimed, “Tourism and police violence are closely connected.” In response, the Asheville Police Department sent the following alert to businesses:

Dear Community Business Owners, We wanted to advise you of a protest scheduled for this Saturday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. that we have been made aware of. It is being promoted by “DefundAVLPD” and it calls for a disruption to downtown tourism ahead of next week’s budget vote. Below please find a copy of an Instagram post promoting the event.

Earlier in the night, people had gathered in Pack Square Park to hold a vigil for the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Those who gathered brought flowers and lit candles in honor of the late justice. They also called for a delay in replacing the now-vacant Supreme Court seat until the next president is sworn in.

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