As Ferguson, Missouri exploded in rioting following the announcement that a grand jury had elected not to indict former police officer Darren Wilson in the August shooting death of Michael Brown, protests erupted throughout California. Though some of the demonstrations were illegal, and a few were tense and violent, the overwhelming character of protests across the Golden State was angry but restrained as of 10 p.m. Monday.
In Oakland, often a hot spot for protest, there was some violence as several storefronts were vandalized, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, and demonstrators repeatedly blocked the westbound side of the 580 freeway.
Two arrests were reported and traffic slowly resumed as police worked to clear hundreds from the road.
The windows of the Oakland Tribune were spray-painted with, “F*** the police,” and other streets were blocked.
In Los Angeles, a small group of demonstrators also briefly blocked the 10 freeway but were soon removed. The Los Angeles Police Department described the small protests that were staged throughout the city as peaceful, according to the Los Angeles Times. There will likely be marches in the days ahead, but the city seems to have little desire to repeat the experience of the riots that followed the Rodney King verdict over two decades ago.
In Sacramento, a small group of protestors blocked cars near the Florin Mall. They waved signs and shouted: “When black youth is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back! No justice–no peace!” A video was captured by a Sacramento Bee reporter on the scene of the small and apparently short-lived traffic jam.
Mayor Kevin Johnson had gathered with local community members to watch the coverage of the decision, the Bee said.
Senior Editor-at-Large Joel B. Pollak edits Breitbart California and is the author of the new ebook, Wacko Birds: The Fall (and Rise) of the Tea Party, available for Amazon Kindle.
Follow Joel on Twitter: @joelpollak
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