Police: Protesters Shatter Windows, Graffiti Buildings in Sacramento

In this Aug. 25, 2020 file photo, a protester holds up a phone as he stands in front of au
AP Photo/Morry Gash

Protesters broke windows and left graffiti messages on walls and sidewalks in downtown Sacramento, California, on Thursday night.

More than 200 assembled in Cesar Chavez Plaza for a march organized by the group Official Sactivists, according to KCRA.

“People began gathering at the downtown Sacramento park for the rally and march around 8 p.m. Thursday. The event flyer told people to wear black and masks,” the report said, adding that many of the places vandalized were city, county, or state buildings.

At 10:22 p.m., the Sacramento Police Department tweeted that the march had concluded, but crowds were forming at Chavez Park:

At 11:00 p.m., KCRA reporter Stephanie Lin shared footage of the crowd and said a protester told her crew there would be “things you cannot film”:

A few minutes later, Lin shared a photo of a graffitied window:

She also tweeted video of the protesters from a distance and said, “You can see some demonstrators specifically assigned to keep media and cameras away”:

A few minutes before, reporter Eric Rucker tweeted video footage of broken glass at the sheriff’s department and graffiti on the sidewalk that read, “Fuck you. You’re here to serve us, not kill us”:

At 11:42 p.m., the police department said it received reports of protesters trying to light a fire at the district attorney’s office, but the fire had been extinguished.

Lin tweeted video footage of the building and said staff members would be “keeping an eye on how events unfold tonight to determine when to replace the windows”:

Thursday’s protest was called Solidarity with Kenosha, in reference to the police-involved shooting of Jacob Blake on Sunday in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Officers responded to a domestic incident and shot Blake in the back seven times when he walked away from them and tried to get into a vehicle, according to Breitbart News.

However, Blake later admitted to law enforcement he “had a knife in his possession,” the Wisconsin Department of Justice said in a statement.

Sacramento police said no arrests had been made once the crowd dispersed just after one a.m. on Friday.

“Detectives will be following up on reports of vandalism. Law enforcement presence will remain downtown throughout the night,” the department concluded.

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