Baltimore Mayor Lifts Citywide Curfew
Curfew began last week after riots followed funeral of Freddie Gray.
— -- Baltimore residents celebrated the lifting of the city's curfew Sunday, with hundreds of people gathering at city hall for a rally of prayers and song.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake earlier today announced the end of the citywide curfew that was instituted after riots erupted Monday following the funeral of Freddie Gray.
There were prayers and civil rights songs at the City Hall rally, but speakers also called on the crowd not to stop demanding change and that the six police officers charged in Gray's death are punished.
"We've got to see this all the way through, until all six officers trade in their blue uniform for an orange uniform," the Rev. Jamal Bryant said. "Let them know: Orange is the new black."
Though many in the city have complained about the curfew, it has been mostly respected. Small groups of protesters have remained on the streets as the curfew went into effect each night, and there have been some arrests, but no violence.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said he supports lifting the curfew.
"The mayor and I both talked and agreed we think it's time to get the community back to normal again," he said.
Hogan added that there have been no serious problems since Monday and he has started to withdraw the National Guard.
Malik Shabazz, the president of Black Lawyers for Justice and one of the organizers of a march to City Hall Saturday that drew hundreds, said Saturday the curfew should be lifted, calling it "oppressive."
"Nobody out here is going to go out here and start any violence because they're waiting on the trial. They have gotten some justice," Shabazz said.
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Rawlings-Blake also toured the Mondawmin Mall Sunday, marking the shopping center's reopening after it was looted during Monday's riots.
The mayor said when she toured the mall Tuesday, the destruction was "devastating."
But after nearly a week of cleanup efforts, the mall reopened.
"To see it bounce back so quickly gives me a lot of optimism," she said at a press conference today.
The mayor added that she's very confident in the future of the city. She said she's actively engaging with the Department of Justice and is in the process of reforming the police department.
The seven-hour overnight curfew began Tuesday night, a day after rioters clashed with police and set fire to buildings throughout the city. A funeral for Gray, 25, who died in police custody last month, had been held earlier in the day. Six officers were charged Friday in connection with Gray's death.
ABC News' Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.