According to the NYPD, a group of 150 to 300 NYC Black Lives Matter, Antifa Rioters… Err, I meant “Peaceful Protesters,” smashed windows, tagged storefronts, and generally caused chaos on Lower Manhattan chain stores and banks.
The NYPD reported that at least two Starbucks, five banks, and a Duane Reade had their windows broken, causing an estimated $100,000 in damage to lower Manhattan.
NYC Black Lives Matter, Antifa Peaceful Protesters They’re Not
Police recovered two stun guns, smoke grenades, and burglary and graffiti tools.
The protest had been advertised on Twitter by groups calling themselves the “New Afrikan Black Panther Party” and the “Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement.”
TONIGHT (Friday, September 4th) – 6:00pm – Rally to #DropTheCharges and demand #AmnestyForAll. Where? 100 Centre Street. PULL UP! pic.twitter.com/aBXXtIpb5a
— NYC ABC (@nycabc) September 4, 2020
One of the arrested protesters was from Portland, Ore., and another was from Iowa, the sources said.
All were charged with rioting; some were additionally charged with weapons and burglary tool possession.
The protest began at 6 p.m. at Foley Square; protesters lit trash can fires and scrawled graffiti — including the word “Abolition” — as they made their way north.
“Every city, every town, burn the precinct to the ground,” the group was recorded chanting at one point.
About 300 people are near Lafayette and Canal in Manhattan, chanting "every city, every town, burn the precinct to the ground". pic.twitter.com/4D2uA6Z23N
— NYC Protest Updates 2020 (@protest_nyc) September 4, 2020
Three of the banks damaged were on Seventh Avenue, between 14th and 20th streets, police sources said.
One source noted that the marchers bypassed the home of City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who lives at 15th Street and Seventh Avenue.
Johnson has called for an investigation into counter-protesters who plowed a car into a crowd of BLM protesters in Times Square on Thursday night.
“They’re breaking his neighbors’ windows — how come he’s not calling for an investigation now?” the source asked The New York Post wryly.
Security footage obtained by NBC4 shows a protester in a balaclava using a tool to smash windows of a shop as others held umbrellas to shield the vandal from view.
“We call on everyone who stood up during the #GeorgeFloyd uprising and all supporters to come out to say #DropTheCharges for all who have fought for our liberation!” wrote one of the groups that organized the event, RAM NYC, while promoting the protest on Twitter late last month.
EXCLUSIVE: As protestors take to the streets of New York, a small group of troublemakers are seen smashing windows. We know of at least 8 arrests tonight. One store worker says he understands the protests, but doesn’t get the destruction of property – 11p @NBCNewYork pic.twitter.com/vr4z76ZqQn
— Adam Harding (@HardingReports) September 5, 2020
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