MIAMI – Monday was the day beaches were supposed to finally reopen in Miami-Dade County, but after this weekend’s protests, precautions are back in place.
In addition to the beaches remaining closed, a countywide curfew is in place from 9 p.m. Monday through 6 a.m. Tuesday, and local leaders and law enforcement are on alert for the potential of more gatherings.
Public transit was back up and running early Monday morning after shutting down for safety reasons over the weekend, but officials say they are monitoring the situation with safety in mind.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez says that because of the resources needed to enforce curfew, they aren’t able to make sure people are gathered safely at the beach, thus those remain closed.
“We felt it was best not to open the beaches,” Gimenez said. “The beaches could be a place you could have ad hoc demonstrations, congregations of people. We felt it was best to hold off.”
As for a cost on the damage done in the city and county over the weekend, officials tell us it’s too soon to tell and they’re not sure it’s over yet.
“It’s too early to assess. We are still in preparation mode,” City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said. “We have not really stopped preparation. We are ready in case there are demonstrations tonight.”
Miami-Dade Corrections says they had 35 arrests overnight — the majority of those for curfew violation — after 57 arrests Saturday night. On both nights, a small number of people arrested came from out of state.
Gimenez said he was proud of how Miami’s protesters largely demonstrated peacefully in response to last week’s death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.
“I am really proud, because we showed the rest of the country the rest of the world how you can demonstrate, how you should demonstrate,” Gimenez said.
One protester named Carlos told Local 10 on Monday: “Within the protesters, you have the good apple and the bad apples. Within the department of justice, you have the good apples and the bad apples.”