The Omaha group ProBLAC organized a Black Lives Matter protest/occupation at the main intersection of the Old Market entertainment district in Omaha, NE. This video is from the first night of the three planned protests. The Old Market is Omaha's main entertainment/restaurant/bar district and the intersection in the video is the center of it. Specifically, the reason for the protest was to bring attention to the BLM movement as well as the excessive use of force by the Omaha Police. Participants in previous actions had been beaten, tear gassed, and shot with pepper balls during peaceful protests. Protesters wanted to call attention to the fact that the budget for the police department constitutes over 40% of the city's yearly budget, yet little or none of that is spent on training officers to effect peaceful resolutions during citizen encounters. The police are again this year asking for more budget money for additional militarization of the police force. Budget discussions are ongoing and the City Council will consider budget requests in a few days on Tuesday, August 18. In a related piece of news, Douglas County received a very large amount of federal money for COVID-19 relief within the community, but chose to spend almost $2 million of it on a new armored vehicle to be used against protesters instead.

This video was taken about 9:00PM. Seven hours later the police decided to clear the area and arrested everyone on the street, including press and legal observers. Several protesters and bystanders were beaten and required medical treatment.