George Floyd protests: Halsey shot by rubber bullets in LA, says police 'antagonized' peaceful gathering
American singer-songwriter and activist Halsey took to social media on May 30 to reveal that she suffered injuries after being shot by rubber bullets when she took part in a George Floyd protest in Los Angeles. The 'Him & I' singer wrote in a tweet: "A true patriot is someone who will rebel against the government if it becomes necessary, to protect the greater good of their fellow citizens," adding, "We are patriots. If you are not, you are a coward. THIS is what democracy looks like." Halsey attended the Black Lives Matter rally in Los Angeles on May 30 along with Yungblud. She also live-streamed the altercation between the protesters and the police officers with the caption "I watched it happen". She later added in another tweet, "Fired rubber bullets at us. We did not breach the line. Hands were up. Unmoving. And they gassed and fired."
The singer added, "I WAS NOT ARRESTED. I'm safe. There were ppl I had to get to safety as many of them have VISAs. Myself + many of my peers were shot, gassed + antagonized. The frontline was calm + did not provoke. BUT MANY ARE NOT SAFE + MANY ARE IN CUSTODY." Halsey later clarified the message adding that she won't be updating any further personal information. "I wanted you to know I was SAFE because information was out of control. But I will NOT be updating any more personal information!!!" she said, adding, "I WILL ONLY BE DOCUMENTING AND POSTING MY RECORD OF THE STATUS OF THE ASSEMBLY. Thousands of you witnessed them fire on us unprovoked. Be safe."
According to Stereogum, Halsey uploaded a photo of her bruised leg on Instagram, which has now been removed. "This hit me through layers of fabric and for that, I am extremely privileged. At close range it would have caused serious injury. They were fired at peoples' faces during peaceful moments of the demonstration."
On May 28, Halsey addressed the death of George Floyd and wrote, "Say his name. Share this information. If you have friends and family who are privileged enough to 'stay away from this kind of news' then take that f***ing privilege away. Uplift the voices of black members of your community voicing their fear or outrage or grief."