March ends at St. Louis Arch, closes monument

About 125 people protesting police violence have marched in St. Louis to the Gateway Arch, prompting park police to close the monument early.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that protesters, holding signs with slogans including “Black Lives Matter,” also briefly blocked some streets Saturday. Many participants had the names of people killed by police written on fluorescent tape that they put over their mouths or on their clothes.

Quiet for much of the time, protesters yelled and chanted at the Arch. The newspaper said park security shut the gates outside the entrance. Protesters shook the gates, demanding to be let in. They also left tape pieces on the gates or on the south leg of the Arch.

The newspaper said some onlookers were annoyed they couldn’t visit the monument.