Masked And Hooded Rioters Broke Away From A Protest To Set Fire To The County Courthouse In Oakland, California
Rioters in Oakland broke away from the main protest group and set fire to the county courthouse after a dispute between the ranks of protesters ended in the determination that some were hoping for a more violent night akin to the riots happening in Portland and Seattle.
tonight in oakland pic.twitter.com/vjI08XRPlV
— Sanna🤍ثنا (@humanbecomiing) July 26, 2020
Small blaze set inside Alameda county courthouse. #oaklandprotest
— Christian Monterrosa (@chrismatography) July 26, 2020
You may not use this video for credit. All videos for Associated Press pic.twitter.com/TKmDADYsod
Thankfully, Oakland Fire Department Was Able To Quickly Put Out The Flames
Yeah, defo a BYOincendiary at the Alameda County Courthouse in Oakland tonight @patricknorton. Thankfully OFD put it out with the quickness. Sadly Roger Moore and Christopher Walken were nowhere to be seen. @sfchronicle has a write up. pic.twitter.com/D4A1Rgfjnq
— Darren Kitchen (@hak5darren) July 26, 2020
The Oakland Police Department Repeatedly Begged Organizers To Control The More Radical Elements Among Their Ranks
The Oakland Police were incredibly restrained and offered the rioters plenty of warnings before attempting to utilize crowd control measures. Pictures uploaded to social media show the number of fireworks, bottles, and other projectiles that were thrown at them. Lasers were used to impair the vision of the officers.
Fireworks and dangerous projectiles are some of the items agitators used to assault officers. We ask the organizers of tonight's demonstration to work with us, calling for peace and help us provide safe spaces and safe places for demonstrators. pic.twitter.com/ImpQdquirU
— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) July 26, 2020
We continue to ask the crowd to disperse because of an unlawful assembly. Some in the crowd are throwing projectiles and pointing illegal lasers at officers. We are using signs and giving vocal commands to the crowd if the assaults continue chemicals will be deployed. pic.twitter.com/Un1Ndrs0AQ
— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) July 26, 2020
We are asking agitators to stop throwing items and pointing lasers at the officers at 7th & Broadway.
— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) July 26, 2020
Agitators are breaching the barricades in front of the Police Department 7th and Broadway as we declare an unlawful assembly.
— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) July 26, 2020
We are declaring an unlawful assembly at the corner of 7th and Broadway. Asking the crowd to disperse. pic.twitter.com/eHxayhwhOL
— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) July 26, 2020
Some organizers did their best to prevent people from escalating to violence, ultimately, they failed
The Oakland Police gave organizers every opportunity to quell the violence in their group. In fairness, some of the organizers attempted to do so, albeit with the caveat that they weren’t going to try to stop people from being violent, they were merely going to disassociate from them. Using a megaphone, one organizer told the crowd, “if you’re about black lives, come with us” implying that those who want to break glass and cause destruction were not interested in the actual protest but were merely there to watch the world burn. Shortly thereafter, the splinter group went off and set the courthouse on fire.
We ask organizers of tonight's protest to help maintain peace. Currently, some demonstrators in the area of 17th & Lakeside are breaking windows and chanting racial slurs at residents. pic.twitter.com/4NZ2rhcMam
— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) July 26, 2020
This was a major turning point in the protest. A rift in ideology became apparent. Moments before the Alameda courthouse was set on fire. #alameda #FederalPolice #alamedacourthouse #oaklandprotest #riot #fire #antifa #AntifaProtestors #BlackLivesMattermovement #oakland pic.twitter.com/SXNaiHDxUF
— EKF Productions (@kentkessinger) July 26, 2020
