Deep South Texas: only minor assemblies of actual rational protestors. No rioting noted. One guy at a protest, being Texan, did open carry of a rifle.
Chicken, yeah. For faster cooking, cut a whole bird down the front and splay it out. This works for turkey, too, although the dressing is a different problem. The news about the puppy set ME up to see a cat, there on the grill, but I'd seen turkey done this way before, so my eyeballs settled down.