IMAGES | Protesters calling for end to evictions amid pandemic block Louisville intersection with furniture

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Protesters calling for an end to evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic used pieces of furniture to block the intersection of Sixth and Jefferson streets on Saturday. 

Demonstrators left mattresses, couches, televisions, dressers, a washing machine and more in the middle of the downtown Louisville streets, which border the Hall of Justice, Metro Hall and Jefferson Square Park. 

The furniture featured spray-painted messages, among which included: 

• "Stop evictions"
• "Lower the bar cancel rent"
• "Housing is not a luxury"
• "Housing is a human right" 
• "Black homes matter"
• "Landlords get a real job"
• "Evict racism"
• "Look what you made us do!" 

Louisville Metro Police responded to the area after 4 p.m. and used marked and unmarked police cars to block the intersection of Fifth and Jefferson streets so no one could drive toward the furniture. LMPD officers removed the furniture from the intersection and placed it into a garbage truck with Metro Public Works, according to a police livestream from the demonstration on LMPD's Facebook page.  

In a statement, LMPD said three people were arrested. The department did not provide the names of the individuals arrested or the charges they face. Police also towed a silver SUV. 

There could be 142,000 eviction filings in Kentucky during the next four months as 211,000 households — or 42% of the renter households in the state — are unable to pay rent and are "at risk," according to an analysis of U.S. Census survey data by business consulting firm Stout Risius Ross LLC.

Landlords in Louisville are proceeding with the legal steps necessary to kick tenants out despite Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive order halting evictions in Kentucky during the pandemic, court records show. As of Friday, at least 40 evictions for nonpayment of rent have been filed in Jefferson County, according to WDRB’s analysis of court records.

Kentucky's Supreme Court in July said that landlords could once again go to county courts to evict tenants for failing to pay rent beginning Aug. 1, putting the courts system at odds with Beshear’s indefinite moratorium. Kentucky Chief Justice John Minton, who oversees the court’s administrative office, has declined to comment on the eviction issue.

According to Beshear, his order would prevent sheriffs' offices and other law enforcement agencies from setting renters out of their homes.

However, Carl Yates, a spokesman for the Jefferson County Sherriff’s Office, said the sheriff will enforce any eviction order it receives from the courts. The office is not able to "pick and choose" which orders to obey, he said.

A handful of Louisville attorneys knowledgeable about evictions said judges will have the final say on whether Beshear’s executive order is followed, as sheriffs' offices merely enforce the orders the courts give them.

Jefferson County residents and landlords are eligible to receive up to three months’ of rental payments through Louisville Metro’s Eviction Prevention Assistance program. Click here for details about who is eligible for the program. Applications can be started online here or by calling 502-977-6636.

This story may be updated. 

Related Stories: 

• Louisville landlords resume evictions despite Beshear's moratorium
• Mayor Fischer reminds Louisville residents of rent assistance program as evictions resume
• Confusion reigns over Kentucky evictions as no agreement reached

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