Agitators Smash Windows, Set Fires At Oakland Protest In Solidarity With Jacob Blake NBA Boycott
OAKLAND (CBS SF) - Hundreds came out to a planned protest in Oakland Wednesday night, to show solidarity with the pro-sports boycott for Jacob Blake, a black man who was shot, point blank, 7 times in the back by a police officer in Wisconsin.
Most of the protesters marched peacefully, but a group of agitators smashed windows, torched trash cans and ignited small fireworks, according to police.
The 19th Street BART station was shut down around 10 p.m. due to the violence.
Around 11 p.m, protesters briefly stopped traffic on I-580 and walked down the Grand Avenue off-ramp.
The protest was planned to support the pro sports world, after all three NBA playoff games scheduled for Wednesday were postponed, with players around the league choosing to boycott in their strongest statement yet against racial injustice.
The crowd has grown to several hundred. They are marching through Oakland right now to protest the police shooting of #JacobBlake. Some windows were smashed in the process. #oaklandprotest pic.twitter.com/3ZjKKZQH5n
— Joe Vazquez (@joenewsman) August 27, 2020
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
"I am angry! I am angry! ... I ain't here to talk about workers," a man told the crowd. "I'm here to talk about Black people getting killed in the **** street!"
Earlier, police urged calm.
The City of Oakland released a statement, saying "We celebrate passionate protest, but remind Oaklanders that when they attend protests after dark they may be providing cover for agitators who are more intent on vandalism and stoking civil unrest than advancing social justice."