I'm here independent reporting style on Fayetteville street in Raleigh, where hundreds have gathered already to bring the protests to NC's capitol over #GeorgeFloyd's killing:

The promo materials and this press release, provided to me by @zainab4raleigh, show a concrete set of demands from organizers involved with this demonstration emphasizing police accountability and community power

A subtle chant -- "Fuck Trump" -- has raised the protester volume to a new high for the day thus far

A sample of some of the signage on display here at the foot of Wake County Courthouse (please excuse the less-than-ideal quality of my iPhone cam)

A woman explains how she sees the #GeorgeFloyd killing through the lens of her own son, and how it felt seeing Floyd yell for his mother in his final moments on video:

The focus turns to Raleigh Police Department, and the death earlier this year of Keith Collins (whose killing is still being investigated). His mother joins the stage

Aaaand we are on the move, "Black Lives Matter" and "No Justice, no peace) chants in tow. Again, sorry for bad phone quality. Those new iPhones are expensive

First sign of major police presence I've seen at intersection of Blount and Jones. Sheriff's and local PD. In past reporting, I've seen local departments use far less congested rallies to enact mutual aid agreements with PDs across the state, sometimes dozens. But who knows

Won't share names or photos on here right now, but two black men I've spoken with, both w families, say they're here bc they don't want their children to be the next #GeorgeFloyd . One came close in police encounter in Cleveland. Other says he knows members of Floyd's family

Three cops on horses rode by in the park, but vanished. Up close, the protesters are getting smiles from bar attendants, and many drivers seem to be pumping fists and smiling as the occupied streets stall their daily routine

Word floating around that police are tear gassing the back of the line of this protest in Raleigh

Moments before word of tear gas at back of the protest line (not verified by me as of yet), the crowd stopped in front of a local Confederte monument. Worth nothing the United Daughters of the Confederacy have their NC headquarters in this town, right by the governors mansion

"We gon' breathe today," a chant led by the de facto pilots of this protest throughout its occupation of the Raleigh streets

"Aye, I'm coming y'all," one guy yells from his car, dapping up some passerbys

"Our streets" is starting to extend from the core of Raleigh. Someone just yelled again "They're tear gassing people in the back." Barely any police have interacted with the front of the line here, and this line hasn't stopped moving for a looong time

This protest has taken the highway. You won't see it here, but I pull a pretty damn athletic move here navigating a fellow photog while maintaining my high ground. Horn honking has become the universal language of solidarity here in Raleigh.

Another chant that's held big popularity today, "Fuck 12," echoes as the crowd bumps music and shuts down the streets (12 = police)

"Oh we takin' over Raleigh now?," one young protester nearby just laughed, before leading a chant of "'What's his name?' 'George Floyd!'"

This is a loooot of people folks.

The closest thing I've seen to direct protester-police confrontation today. Some passerby banged on the car windows, or just looked at and made fun of them, like these folks

And we are back where we started, Wake County Courthouse, with more speeches, more protesters and more noise