From marches to nighttime clashes and courtroom battles, the demand for racial justice and an end to police violence continues in Richmond — now the epicenter of Virginia protests and police actions to control the situation more than a month after they began.

On Tuesday, as Gov. Ralph S. Northam extended for 30 days a month-old emergency declaration in the city at the request of Mayor Levar M. Stoney, a Richmond Circuit Court judge upheld the authority of police to declare unlawful assemblies and to use tear gas, chemical deterrents and rubber bullets to disperse protesters.

Judge Beverly W. Snukals rejected the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia’s request for a temporary restraining order to halt such police actions as a violation of protesters’ First Amendment rights.

In a written opinion, Judge Snukals stated that such a restraining order would represent “an unwarranted intrusion into and interference with the ability of law enforcement to do its job during an unprecedented period of civil unrest.”

The ACLU, now engaged in a lawsuit to uphold the right of protesters to occupy city streets without interference, called the decision disappointing and expressed concern about “whether Virginians have a right to challenge in state courts unconstitutional police actions and violations of their civil rights under the Virginia Constitution.”

The request for the restraining order was the opening skirmish in the lawsuit filed June 26 by the ACLU against the Virginia State Police, the Richmond Police Depart- ment and the City of Richmond for actions taken against protesters on June 22.

The case focuses on authorities’ actions to disperse protesters who occupied the 900 block of East Marshall Street in front of City Hall during a City Council meeting and threw up a barricade to traffic as part of the takeover.

Hours later, around 12:40 a.m. June 23, police declared the protesters were engaged in an unlawful assembly and around 1:25 a.m. began firing tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse people who refused to move. Twelve people were arrested.

Before police moved in, participants who had dubbed the area “Reclamation Square” played music and instructed others on police brutality and inequality.

The ACLU lawsuit claims the peaceful occupation was protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment right to assembly and to petition the government.

In a letter to Gov. Northam, Mayor Stoney requested the state of emergency in Richmond be extended because of the

continuing upheaval. He noted that peaceful protests were “evolving into unlawful assemblies during late night and early morning” hours.

While Mayor Stoney has not spoken of it, the Richmond Police Department has assigned him a protection detail based on death threats the mayor has received from people objecting to his plan to remove racist Confederate statues from city property.

Others organizations have joined the ACLU in condemning police actions to disperse protesters. As the court issued its decision on Tuesday, more than 40 faith leaders from Clergy Action RVA gathered at the Lee statue on Monument Avenue to speak out against police brutality and racism and authorities’ ongoing effort to disrupt peaceful protests.

The Richmond Branch NAACP also registered its support for the peaceful protests for racial justice and against police brutality and police-related murders “as an effective tool to dismantle systemic racism and effectuate positive change. ... At no point should peaceful protesters have rubber bullets or tear gas shot at them.”

A protest group led by Farid Alan Schintzius had scheduled a sit-in at the Lee statue at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday to protest police brutality.

Meanwhile, City Council members Michael Jones, 9th District, and Stephanie Lynch, 5th District, see police as overreacting to protests and are seeking to pass legislation that could prevent police from using noxious chemicals like tear gas and similar chemicals to disperse crowds.

But Councilperson Kim Gray. 2nd District, said some of the people involved in the protests are engaged in terrorism. Ms. Gray said in Jackson Ward, a historically African-American section of Downtown, protesters come armed and often are threatening. She said one protester leveled what appeared to be an AK-47-style weapon at her daughter in front of their home while another ran onto a neighbor’s porch waving a machete at the homeowner who was filming the scene.

She also noted that Black-owned or operated businesses have been vandalized and a building and several cars set on fire. Ms. Gray, who is African-American, said a young white woman who lives nearby shouted at her to get out of the neighborhood because she didn’t belong there. “That is the kind of arrogance and assertion of white privilege we are experiencing from people ironically claiming to be acting to ensure Black lives matter. This is so out of control.”

However, the protests have had an impact in pushing public officials to consider reforms in police practices and for police departments, including the one at Virginia Commonwealth University, to follow Richmond’s lead in publicly posting information about complaints and disciplinary action taken against police officers.

In Richmond, an investigation continues into the police tear-gassing of peaceful protesters on June 1 at the Lee statue that occurred about 30 minutes before the city’s 8 p.m. curfew.

Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette W. McEachin and the police department’s Internal Affairs Division are both investigating the incident that led Mayor Stoney and then-Police Chief Will Smith to issue a public apology.

The police action also has brought on two lawsuits filed by attorney Thomas H. Roberts on behalf of people in the crowd who were tear-gassed. The suits claim the police attack on a peaceful protest constituted a violation of rights protected under the Constitution's First and Fourth amendments.

"We are working diligently toward resolution and transparency and holding people accountable," Mr. Roberts said.

The ACLU similarly promised to "continue to fight in court to bring justice to people who are speaking out against systemic, anti-black racism.”

The group also stated, "It is time for the governor, the mayor, and the heads of the Richmond, State, and Capitol police to de-escalate the police response and direct their attention to addressing the systemic anti-black racism in the city and within their ranks that has been called out by the protesters."