Tear gas flies, protesters set fires on third night of unrest in Denver

Protesters remain near Capitol on Saturday night despite curfew

May 30, 2020 at 10:33 pm

The largest and most intense afternoon of protests in Denver this week gave way to increasing clashes with police in riot gear Saturday night as many ignored Mayor Michael Hancock’s curfew following the death of George Floyd this week at the hands of Minnesota police.

Saturday’s protest began at noon with a calm crowd, many people wearing face masks and carrying signs protesting Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police. Water bottles were handed out, and state Reps. Leslie Herod and James Coleman, both Denver Democrats, led choruses of “Black Lives Matter” and “Hands up, don’t shoot” chants.

Tay Anderson, a Denver school board member who served as emcee for much of Friday’s daytime protest, pleaded again Saturday for people to march peacefully.

However, the mood changed after Denver Mayor Michael Hancock announced at 1 p.m. that he was invoking a citywide curfew for Saturday and Sunday nights, and that Gov. Jared Polis had authorized use of the Colorado National Guard to maintain order.

Protesters indicated they had little respect for the mayor’s order.

“(Expletive) your curfew, we want justice!” they chanted in front of the Capitol building.

Conflicts also developed among protesters — mainly as some began to get more aggressive and others urged them to remain nonviolent.

Around 3:45 p.m., protesters ran into a police blockade near the 1500 block of North Washington Street, where one person threw something at officers. Other protesters began yelling at that individual, and police shot tear gas.

Nearby, a fight broke out between a white man and a black woman after the woman asked the man to back away from police.

At about 5 p.m., the protest seemed to be quieting down until police in riot gear formed a line on Lincoln Street in front of Civic Center Station, the National Guard standing in formation nearby. SWAT vehicles from both Denver and Aurora were parked in the street.

Dozens of protesters knelt in the streets with their hands up, chanting “Don’t shoot” and “Why are you in riot gear? We don’t see a riot here.” Police began to issue orders to the crowd, but it was difficult to clearly hear their commands. Police then fired many rounds of tear gas, most of which landed in the homeless encampment along Colfax Avenue. Several protesters threw canisters of gas back at police.

Police just majorly tear gassed and shot pepperballs at protesters in front of Civic Center Station; huge crowd ran for it, including me. Eyes, throat burning. It’s a lot of gas. Protesters were not throwing anything or advancing on cops pic.twitter.com/CPYvnvXzUz

— Beth Rankin (@byBethRankin) May 30, 2020

For the next two hours, every five to 10 minutes, police continued to fire tear gas, pepper balls, flash bangs and small red balls at protesters in an effort to clear them from the Capitol. Every time the gas cleared, protesters returned. A group of activists linked arms and sat on the ground in front of the Capitol. One woman called out, “If you’re white, hold the line,” and more white protesters joined them in an attempt to circle the Capitol. Meanwhile, a group of protesters nearby attempted to clean graffiti off of the Scottish Rite Masonic Center at Grant and 14th.

Just before 7 p.m., some white protesters attempted to pull off plywood protecting the Colorado Supreme Court building. Black protesters yelled at them to stop and tried to reattach the boards.

more:

https://www.denverpost.com/2020/05/30/george-floyd-denver-protests-day-3-saturday/

Live coverage: George Floyd protesters face off with Alamo Cenotaph defenders

12:06 am CDT, Sunday, May 31, 2020

On Saturday night, San Antonio joined other cities in rallying for the arrest of the Minneapolis Police Department officers in connection to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died while in police custody on Monday.

Below is an abridged timeline of the night's events. For live coverage of the ongoing situation, visit ExpressNews.com.

11:30 p.m. | Mayor Ron Nirenberg signed a local disaster declaration and issued a temporary curfew for the downtown area effective 11:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday and from 10 p.m. on Sunday until 6 a.m. Monday.

“This brief curfew will protect the safety of people and property in the downtown business district while allowing the vast majority of people to peacefully assemble,” Nirenberg said.

11 p.m. | Officers are deploying flash-bang grenades .

10:30 p.m. | Mayor Ron Nirenberg posted to Facebook: "What started out as a righteous demonstration has devolved for a few folks out there. I hope everyone downtown tonight realizes this is your city, too."

10:24 p.m. | A line of officers deployed tear gas at protestors at N. Alamo Street and Houston Street. A solid line of officers armed with batons, wearing gas masks, then began moving toward the crowd, forcing them up North Alamo in an attempt to disperse those remaining.

9:23 p.m. | As demonstrations continue in Alamo Plaza and the surrounding area, protestors egged SAPD squad cars, put protest signs on them and broke a window at the San Antonio visitors center. ⁦

8:00 p.m. | A stampede of protestors ensued. People sprinted from the scene, running into each other and screaming. Some said they’d heard rubber bullets being fired. Others said the police had begun to enclose on the protestors in a way that caused them to run. Most ran because others were running, fearful of a shooting.

7:44 p.m. | At Alamo Plaza, protestors alternate between yelling at police and at Alamo defenders, who are behind them. Police have formed a barricade of bikes, and another row of police are carrying batons between both groups.

6:44 p.m. | The San Antonio Police Department estimates that at least 5,000 people marched against police brutality and to commemorate George Floyd. The crowd remained peaceful as it passed SAPD headquarters and headed back toward Travis Park.

5:36 p.m. | At Travis Park, hundreds of people are gathered to listen to activists and community members speak about overcoming racial injustice. The crowd stands quiet, until they’re prompted by speakers to briefly chant, “We can’t breathe!” and “Black lives matter!”

5:10 p.m. | Next to the Alamo, there’s a line of at least a dozen police cars, where officers are suiting up in protective vests and riot gear. Some have batons and zip ties, a couple have shields. They are closest to the counter protest planned at the Cenotaph, not the George Floyd demonstration.

4:30 p.m. | In preparation for Saturday evening’s demonstration against police brutality and the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus told reporters during a news briefing that there will be a “massive” law enforcement presence around the downtown area.

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Live-coverage-George-Floyd-protesters-face-off-15305532.php

https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/live-travis-park-demonstration-george-floyd-15305539.php

Texas National Guard activated in response to George Floyd protests

8:52 pm CDT, Saturday, May 30, 2020

The Texas National Guard is being activated in response to protests of George Floyd’s death, one day after initially peaceful demonstrations escalated into widespread confrontations with police and led to eight injured officers and 137 arrests.

"Texans have every right to exercise their first amendment rights, but violence and looting will not be tolerated." Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement Saturday night.

In addition, HPD Police Chief Art Acevedo said his entire department is ready, with all officers alternating 12 hour shifts. Mayor Sylvester Turner activated the city’s Office of Emergency Management, which ensures employees in various offices are prepared to respond. And Gov. Greg Abbott deployed 1,500 Department of Public Safety officers to four Texas cities, including Houston.

Acevedo said many of the provocateurs Friday night were white, unconnected with the demonstrations and possibly from out of town. The department is also monitoring a threat regarding white supremacists planning to come to Houston and “create havoc” on Saturday, according to the chief, though he didn’t offer more details.

The mayor said 80 to 85 percent of the people who ventured downtown Friday did so peacefully, and he thanked them and police officers for showing restraint.

“Let me take this back to where this started, and that was the death of George Floyd. It was what people saw and the actions that led to his death that created a great deal of emotion and frustration,” Turner said. “That quite frankly is where the focus should be… and the actions of a few are causing the focus to come off of George Floyd and his family.”

Floyd, 46, died in Minneapolis police custody Monday night after video showed an officer kneeling on his neck, pinning him to the ground while he pleaded for help. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with murder and manslaughter, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Chauvin and three other officers at the scene were fired earlier this week.

Floyd’s classmates from Yates High School held a peaceful march and vigil Saturday morning in the Third Ward, and another vigil was scheduled in Emancipation Park for 6 p.m. Acevedo said the latter event was planned peacefully as well, though he said it remains possible that other groups come in and cause disruptions.

The mobilization comes after initially peaceful demonstrations in downtown Houston boiled over Friday night, leading police to effectively shut off downtown as protesters obstructed highways, hurled objects at officers and destroyed police cars. At least one store — Verizon on Main Street — was reported looted. Its storefront was boarded up Saturday afternoon, along with a nearby CVS and restaurant.

Acevedo said eight officers were injured — mostly suffering head injuries, or with glass shards in their face from thrown objects — and all had been released from the hospital by Saturday afternoon. One was attacked with a crowbar, spokesman John Cannon said, and another attacked with a two-by-four.

The chief said he had also ordered an administrative review of a video circulating online that shows a mounted officer knocking over a woman holding a sign. He said the officer appears to be looking straight ahead and noted that they were “taking rocks” at the time.

“It appears it might have been unintentional,” he said.

Other protesters appeared injured, though details were scant on their conditions. The chief didn’t have any information about injured protesters.

Police also maintained that they did not use tear gas Friday night, contrary to media reports. Officers did use pepper spray, Cannon said, on five occasions to try to keep people off freeways.

The total damage from the protests wasn’t yet known, Acevedo said. A total of 16 cruisers were defaced or damaged, and the department is working on a report about damage to downtown businesses.

The 137 people arrested were charged with various crimes, Acevedo said. The majority — 102 people — are facing charges of obstructing a roadway. Other charges include interference of public duties (13); evading arrest (7); criminal mischief (5); assault on a peace officer (3); resisting arrest (3); burglary of a building (1); aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (1); failure to identify (1); and retaliation (1).

more:

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Governor-deploys-state-officers-to-Texas-cities-15305572.php

Looters wreak havoc at San Francisco’s Union Square, Powell Street Center in Emeryville during second night of protests across Bay Area

Police in San Jose deploy tear gas and rubber bullets, BART stations in Oakland closed

May 30, 2020 at 10:56 pm

OAKLAND — As night fell Saturday, clashes between protesters and police across the Bay Area returned for a second violent night, with police again deploying rubber bullets and tear gas near San Jose City Hall and demonstrators breaking windows and looting numerous stores, including a Saks Fifth Avenue in San Francisco’s Union Square and a Best Buy in Emeryville.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced a curfew Saturday night and said the National Guard was on standby after iconic Union Square became an epicenter of unrest, with looters ransacking high-end shops, cleaning out the Coach store of leather bags and Salvatore Ferragamo of shoes. Bras from Victoria’s Secret and cushioned jewelry boxes from the Swarovski store littered the sidewalks as police pushed protesters from block to block and the sting of tear gas hung in the air.

Looters wreaked havoc at Emeryville’s Powell Street Center, breaking into stores including Ross, Men’s Warehouse, Chase bank, Metro PCS and Starbucks. People ran from BevMo, their arms full of bottles. Broken glass covered the ground. Looting continued for at least an hour before police arrived around 10:15. Police handcuffed several people, but most had already fled. Guitar Center and Urban Outfitters on Shellmound were also hit.

The new day of demonstrations follow several chaotic confrontations that took place across the country Friday, as protesters came out to the streets by the thousands to denounce the killing of George Floyd, an African-American man, by police officers in Minneapolis earlier this week. Derek Chauvin, the officer who notoriously subdued Floyd by pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck for several minutes, causing his death, was subsequently fired and now faces a murder charge.

Floyd’s death has drawn condemnation from all corners of the country, including a chorus of police leaders, but clashes between protesters and police continued to escalate Saturday from Chicago to Las Vegas to Seattle despite curfews in a number of cities, including Los Angeles, and the presence of the National Guard in other states.

At 14th and Broadway in Oakland, where broken glass from windows smashed Friday at Walgreens were still scattered across the sidewalk, protesters chanted “no justice, no peace, no racist police,” and held signs in protest Saturday over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

“I’m out here because I don’t want my daughter to die,” said Lisa Cardoso, 41, of Oakland, who is black and brought her 10-year-old daughter, Tianna Jackson, to her first protest. “I want her to live.”

In San Francisco earlier Saturday, a mostly young and diverse crowd holding signs emblazoned with messages like “Black Lives Matters,” “Blue Lives Kill,” and “White Silence is Violence” listened to speakers on the steps of San Francisco’s City Hall starting around noon.

“When the police in Oakland killed Oscar Grant in 2009, they were teaching you something,” said Reiko Redmonde, owner of Berkeley’s Revolution Books, alluding to Grant’s infamous shooting death at the hands of BART officer Johannes Mehserle at the Fruitvale transit station. “This isn’t one bad cop, this isn’t a bunch of bad cops. It’s the whole f—ing system.”

more:

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/30/george-floyd-protests-san-francisco-demonstrations-kick-off-saturday/

'Grief-Stricken' Seattle Rioters Loot an AR-15 From Cop Car. What Happened Next Will Make You Cheer

By Victoria Taft May 31, 2020 1:34 AM EST

The cider-gulping, mustached-waxed, butterfly-tatted antifa and Black Lives Matter rioters nearly turned their looting and car-burning sideshow into a Dallas-level bloodbath on Saturday afternoon.

In 2016, in retaliation for police shootings nationwide, a protester and trained sniper, shot 12 Dallas police officers, killing five.

In Seattle, riotous thugs “honored” the memory of George Floyd, who was killed while in Minneapolis police custody earlier this week, by blocking Interstate 5 for most of the day in the busiest downtown portion of the freeway. They looted a Nordstrom store, smashed windows of downtown businesses and set cars on fire. It was part of a nation wide series of riots that began in Minneapolis and quickly metastasized to the West Coast and all the way to the White House gates.

Somehow in the melee, KING 5 News, captured video of bandanna wearing antifa dirtbag who stole an AR-15 type rifle from one of two smashed up police cars. The cars, one of which was burning, was tagged with the Left’s favorite anti-cop epithet ACAB – All Cops Are Bastards.

Seattle’s Own ‘Shaft’ Came to the Riot

Knowing antifa’s thuggery and how cops are too busy to protect anyone, one TV news station had the foresight to hire what they called a “security guard.”

This was no mall cop.

George Orwell famously said “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” And thank God a Seattle TV station hired one.

As the mayor ordered police officers and National Guard troops to corral the protesters, fetch them water and and cut their meat for them, there was this guy.

Q-13 News confirms that it hired Shaft (above) who looked like he was two parts top security professional and one part raw nerve.

As I explained on air, our security guard felt that the public was in danger. He took the AR 15 from the rioter and disabled it. We called 911 and waited to hand it over and continue our reporting. Protesters surrounded us, calling us police. (1/2) https://t.co/q9jypdxfco

— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) May 31, 2020

He moved on the antifa boy and his buddies so fast, grabbed the stolen AR-15 and ejected the magazine so quickly and efficiently, without looking, that it impressed this retired cop friend who told me he was duly impressed.

“Great work. He’s good. He’s very good with firearms. Handled his Glock nicely. Snatched Stupid’s rifle, handed him off and then cleared the recovered rifle like a boss. Didn’t even have to glance to get any of the work done.”

Seattle Security Pro Disarms Antifa

This is what this fluid take-down looked like.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/victoria-taft/2020/05/31/video-grief-stricken-seattle-rioters-loot-an-ar-15-from-cop-car-what-happened-next-will-make-you-cheer-n469228