“They exhibited and had stuff that showed that they were there to cause issues, to cause problems. Other than those five it was a relatively quiet night,” Heck said.
MORE: Springfield leaders praise peaceful protests, condemn vandalism
The curfew, which started Monday evening, last from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and will be in effect until Wednesday morning. It contains several blocks with the north border being East North Street, the western border being Center Street, the eastern border being Spring Street and the southern border being West Jefferson Street.
Heck said that all five of those arrested appeared not to be, from initial reports, current residents of the city.
The curfew was put in place after a small group of people damaged several businesses as well as governmental property Sunday night. Acts of vandalism occurred after a crowd that was gathered near the courthouse was dispersed by local law enforcement around 11 p.m., Sunday.
MORE: Some Springfield businesses plan to close early due to curfew
Some had lingered after a peaceful demonstration Sunday afternoon that saw hundreds of people show up in order to protest racial injustice as well as the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Springfield Police Chief Lee Graf said that most of the crowd that had stayed into the evening left after being dispersed by law enforcement. He said it was a small group of individuals that committed the property damage.