Oakland mayor, Black Lives Matter allies warn that vandalism plays into Trump’s hands
The latest peaceful protest to morph into late-night acts of vandalism in Oakland has unleashed a furious response, but this time the torrent of blame didn’t come from President Donald Trump.
It came from Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, one of the City Council’s most liberal members, supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement and other allies who fear that constant images of a city that can’t seem to control its streets is playing into Trump’s hands.
“Vandalizing our downtown gives Donald Trump the images he wants and the justification he seeks to send federal troops into American cities. We can’t be fooled and play into his twisted campaign strategy,” Schaaf said in a written statement released Sunday, hours after some people torched the county courthouse and vandalized a police station.
“We celebrate passionate protest, but Oaklanders need to know that when they attend protests after dark, they may be providing cover for agitators who are more intent on stoking civil unrest than advancing racial justice,” added the mayor, whose own home was struck last Wednesday when someone shot projectiles at it, lit fireworks and painted “Defund OPD” and “Cancel Rent.”
Councilman Dan Kalb, who intends to introduce an ordinance Tuesday directing the city attorney and city administrator to take any and all lawful means to protect Oakland residents from a potential invasion of federal troops, said in an interview Monday he heard that a group of young white people were the ones who did the damage.
“I don’t know if they know or even care what ‘Black Lives Matter’ actually means,” he said. “They’re not helping the cause at all. … Lighting fires in the street or breaking windows of our local business does not move the needle forward in that cause. … The risk is if it gets out of hand, it would give some odd justification to Trump to do what he’s threatening to do.”
To those behind the cause of police reform and social justice, he said, “Let’s not let a small subset wreak havoc and take away from the righteous message.”
Saturday night’s demonstration started like so many others in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25. About 700 people gathered downtown for a peaceful march to show solidarity with protesters in Portland and the Black Lives Matters movement, calling for police reform.
As the night stretched toward the morning hours, however, groups of people splintered off and vandalized the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse and police headquarters, as well as a slew of downtown businesses, including a bank, restaurant and nearby apartment building, according to Oakland police. Small fires were also reported.
Alameda County Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said some kind of accelerant was thrown into the front entrance vestibule of the courthouse, then ignited with fireworks to cause a small blaze. Damage to the historic courthouse included broken windows and graffiti on the front steps and walls with words such as “end white supremacy,” “kill the cops,” “abolish police” and “blue lives don’t matter.” Cleanup efforts began Sunday to remove the graffiti and board up the damaged entrance; damage was estimated at $200,000.
The vandals also smashed glass doors at Oakland police headquarters and spray-painted graffiti on the building. Police said they arrested four people, mostly for failing to disperse — two from Oakland, one from McKinleyville and one from Hayward.
At one point during Saturday’s march, the demonstration came to a halt as organizers condemned the vandalism taking place.
In a video posted on Twitter by local photojournalist Sarah Belle Lin, an unidentified Black man with a bullhorn could be heard saying, “If you want a peaceful march, don’t be with the b*t. If you guys want to smash and bang s* up, I mean, our lives are on the line.”
Another woman of color captured in the video also addresses the crowd, telling white people to mind what they’re doing.
“You are here as an ally. … I need y’all to understand that, because if we go against the police, it’s not y’all getting shot. I need y’all to understand that right now,” the woman said.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/27/mayor-black-lives-matter-allies-warn-that-vandalism-plays-into-trumps-hands/