After social media rumors circulated about a Paulding County protest march, police prepared.
The Paulding County Sheriff's Office posted on Facebook the "protest will begin in Hiram on US 278/GA 6 and travel west toward the Paulding County Courthouse which is within the City of Dallas."
The post acknowledged the Hiram protest was “an unsubstantiated rumor that is swirling around on social media.”
Still, officers prepared and issued statements encouraging potential marchers to stay home.
Sheriff Gary Gulledge reached out to black community leaders to encourage the protesters to find a way to voice their opinion without disrupting the afternoon rush hour.
“We welcome anyone who wants to peacefully voice their opinion and protest, however we cannot nor will we tolerate lawlessness,” Gulledge said.
Hiram also posted about the protest rumor on Nixle, encouraging people to choose not to participate.
By 6 p.m., Paulding deputies, Dallas and Hiram police and the Georgia State Patrol were all gathered at a church parking lot.
“But there’s been no sign of any protesters,” Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Ashley Henson said.
All officers left by 10:30 p.m., Henson said.
—Staff writers Sierra Hubbard and Alexis Stevens contributed to this article.
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