This Saturday afternoon, around a dozen people walked around downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, carrying weapons and flags and protesting against the state’s lockdown orders. The gathering would have mostly flown under the radar if not for a series of photos of the event that went viral.
A group of about 11 mostly-armed demonstrators protesting the stay at home order marched around downtown Raleigh and ordered sandwiches at a Subway. #Covid_19 #ncpol #MealTeamSix pic.twitter.com/XA1BIU7JHH
— Travis Long (@vizjourno) May 9, 2020
News & Observer photojournalist Travis Long shared the photos to Twitter, one of which shows a man clad in an American flag shirt hoisting what looks to be a rocket launcher over his shoulder.
According to The News & Observer, the weapon slung over the man’s shoulder is an AT4 rocket launcher with a sticker saying “inert” on it. He also had two pistols in two holsters on his waist.
Watch footage from the event over at The News & Observer.