Mob Violence Strikes Indigo, Royalport

[DeJaVu]

[18 July 3071; Achernar Inquisitor] Ninety-two people were killed yesterday in one of the worst incidences of mob violence in Achernar’s history. Protestors in the cities of Indigo and Royalport planned coordinated demonstrations against the local noblemen responsible for a raise on labor taxes, and both nobles coordinated their responses.
Both groups were denied assembly permits by the local constabularies, and both constabularies acted independently of each other in doing so. There are no indications that either of the constabularies in Indigo or Royalport had plans in place to stop these protestors.
The noblemen, afraid of violence, increased their personal security on the day of the protests, and when the protesters, incensed over the arrests of several of their leaders over the lack of permits, started to vandalize the noblemen’s holding, the private security forces responded with force—force that quickly escalated.
By the time the last PoliceMech in Indigo had responded, eighty-nine people were dead, and three more would die in hospitals during the night. Achernar has been placed under martial law for a period of one week while the duke attempts to sort the mess out, but tensions remain high.