The arrests had our viewers asking questions. They asked us why did police arrest these protestors compared to other groups, like "Black Lives Matter." Richmond has seen protests before that have disrupted traffic. A few months ago, the "Black Lives Matter" protest shut down a part of Broad Street near VCU. "I think police try very hard to respect the right to free speech and the right to protest," says NBC12 legal analyst Steve Benjamin. "On Broad Street the police were able to detour traffic; in this situation it appears they had no alternative. The folks were completely blocking the free passage of others, the police asks them to move aside or protest on the sidewalk, they refused, that constitutes a crime."