DeRay Mckesson arrested in Baton Rouge protest; trolls call the arrest staged

Update: DeRay Mckesson was freed on bond, according to the Associated Press.

DeRay Mckesson, one of the most prominent leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement, was arrested early Sunday morning while protesting the death of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge. Meanwhile, some trolls on social media celebrated his arrest.

Mckesson live-streamed his arrest on Periscope. His name was listed on the East Baton Rouge’s website on a list of jail inmates, but The Washington Post reported Sunday morning that Mckesson had been released.

“The police in Baton Rouge have been awful tonight,” Mckesson says in the Periscope video. According to Mckesson’s Twitter timeline, he wrote that while the protests were “peaceful, the police are violent.”

On Sunday morning, #FreeDeRay was trending. The Louisiana National Lawyers Guild created bail fund for those arrested.

There were reports that up to 100 people were arrested in Saturday night’s protest, but the police have not confirmed the number.

Mckesson, who ran for Baltimore mayor earlier this year but came in 6th place, has risen to become one of most recognizable leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement. On Sunday morning, there were some online who celebrated his arrest or called it staged.

There were protests throughout the country on Saturday night to honor Sterling and Philando Castile, who was shot and killed by police in St. Paul, Minnesota. In St. Paul, around 100 people were arrested and 27 officers were injured when protesters tried to block a highway, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Several journalists were arrested during protests this weekend. In Baton Rouge, Ryan Kailath, a reporter for New Orleans public radio WWNO, was arrested on one charge of obstructing a highway, according to The Advocate. According to BuzzFeed News, an WAFB Channel 9 employee was also arrested in Baton Rouge. On Friday, Carlet Cleare and Justin Carter, reporters for WHAM, were among the 70 people arrested in Rochester protests.