VIDEO: Thousands of Protesters March on Poughkeepsie Streets

Tuesday night drew thousands to the City of Poughkeepsie to protest.

In the wake of George Floyd's death, cities across the country have been the scene of protests. A planned demonstration in the City of Poughkeepsie on Tuesday drew a massive crowd, including local politicians who were there to listen and stand with the protesters.

YouTube video shared by Mid Hudson News showed police in riot gear being confronted by protesters on Market Street.

There were Facebook rumors of violence and destruction, but those accounts turned out to be false. Reports that Homegoods and the Home Depot were destroyed were quickly debunked. Many businesses did board up their windows in anticipation of violence that never happened. Facebook was filled with rumors that Zeus Brewing in the City of Poughkeepsie had their windows broken, but that was also quickly proven to be untrue. Other unsubstantiated rumors included reports of people throwing rocks at cars from overpasses and someone driving around and dropping off pallets of bricks on city streets for protesters to use as weapons. There is no indication that these events ever happened.

What did happen was an assembly of thousands of people from all different races getting together to try and start the healing process. Mayor Rob Rollison and Dutchess County Executive, Marc Molinaro both passionately spoke about the murder of George Floyd and urged the community to channel their rage into change. Molinaro pleaded with protesters to turn their anger into policy by talking with politicians and getting out to vote.

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