WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Crowds protesting the death of George Floyd gathered Saturday in downtown West Palm Beach, where they marched peacefully to the county courthouse as they called for justice.
When a WPTV NewsChannel 5 team got to the protest in Rosemary Square, no organizer was to be found.
A woman who goes by Shedelle said when that happens, things do tend to go south.
PHOTOS: Protests around Palm Beach County on Saturday
That's why she stepped up and decided to lead protesters to the courthouse, something she has done at several other protests, including one Thursday in Vero Beach.
"I live in Port St. Lucie. I grew up in Boca (Raton)," said Shedelle. "So the distance between Boca Raton and Port St. Lucie, that's my stomping grounds."
Shedelle said protesters have to keep the momentum going because the protests are working.
She believes public outcry is the reason behind the upgraded charges for the Minneapolis officer accused of killing Floyd.
Rhonda Reyla said she is protesting so that one day her kids don't have to.
"This is not something that is going to stop today, tomorrow," said Reyla. "This is something that I hope goes on for a very long, long time so everything is corrected the way it is supposed to be for my children and their children."
Reyla said Floyd changed the world when he called out for his mother.
"He woke up the moms of the community, whether they're black, white, hispanic, Chinese, it doesn't matter," said Reyla. "We're all mothers to someone. We all have mothers. I decided to go ahead and bring my kids out so that they can see what we're standing for and why I've been going so hard for seven days now."
Reyla said she wants the public to know that the protesters only want peace.
"Don't confuse us protesters during the day with the ones that are looting and rioting at night," said Reyla. "They are not steady. They are not standing for our cause. They're only standing for their own self gain that has nothing to do with us."
Both Reyla and her husband said they're not going to stop protesting peacefully until they believe justice has been served.
"If a guy murders a cop, what's going to happen to him?" said Diego Reyla. "They're going to give him the death penalty and capital murder and that cop killed that man, yes he did. So he deserves first-degree murder."