Holly MatkinViolence erupted in cities across the nation as the country awaited results of the 2020 elections on Tuesday night.
Los Angeles police declared two separate unlawful assemblies on Nov. 3, after clashing with “large and unruly crowds” who refused to disperse, KABC reported.
Many of the rioters were dressed in black and wearing kneepads and helmets, police noted.
They arrested approximately 40 rioters on suspicion of failing to disperse after they refused to comply with officers’ orders to stop blocking the Metro Blue Line train tracks near Grand Avenue and Washington Boulevard.
Thirty more suspects were cited and released for blocking an intersection, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Officer Mike Lopez told KABC.
Due to a large and unruly crowd, the LAPD has declared an unlawful assembly & issued a dispersal order in the area of Pico & Figueroa northwest corner. At this time, anyone in the area is to leave immediately and follow all orders from any police officer. This area is now closed. pic.twitter.com/SwNRsznqE2
— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) November 4, 2020
Meanwhile, Los Angeles police were also dealing with a second group of rioters near the Staples Center in the area of Figueroa and Pico Boulevard.
Officers ordered the group to disperse, and ended up declaring a second unlawful assembly approximately 90 minutes later.
A Starbucks and multiple other businesses were vandalized in the area of 7th Street and Figueroa Street during the night, KABC reported.
Police detained several members of the mob for questioning, KABC reported.
Several additional rioters were seen being taken into custody and loaded onto busses near Hope Street and Washington Boulevard just after 11 p.m., KABC reported.
Violent confrontations between protesters from both ends of the political spectrum sprang up in the Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, DC, the New York Times reported.
A Trump supporter wearing a red “Make America Great Again” shirt said he was accosted for his choice of attire, so he challenged the person who criticized him to a fight.
“I’ll give you 50 blows!” the 35-year-old shouted, according to the New York Times.
The Trump supporter backed down after an officer stepped in and asked him to leave.
“Law enforcement told me to ‘Go away,’ so I went away,” he told the paper.
Rioters dressed in black clothing attacked a man with a bat after he yelled “white lives matter” and “all lives matter” in response to a protester who was chanting “black lives matter,” the New York Times reported.
The assailants, some of whom were wearing masks, were stopped by other bystanders, according to the paper.
Rioters launched fireworks and chanted “black lives matter” through a megaphone as they marched westbound from the Black Lives Matter Plaza just before midnight, USA Today reported.
Now people are just fighting. This is not tear gas. Some sort of smoke bomb. Likely not police. #ElectionNight #BLMPlaza pic.twitter.com/pFugz67cCs
— Christina Ruffini (@EenaRuffini) November 4, 2020
Some carried a large banner that read, “Remove Trump.”
DC Metro police said at 10 p.m. that they had arrested one man on charges of resisting arrest, crossing a police line, and disorderly conduct, USA Today reported.
At approximately 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, black, pro-Trump activist Bevelyn Beatty and Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio were walking with friends in the 1400-block of New York Avenue, NW, after celebrating election night at Harry’s Pub.
That’s when they spotted an elderly man being targeted by a group of people and decided to intervene.
Beatty, who is best known for having been arrested after she painted over the Black Lives Matter mural on Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower in New York City multiple times, said in a video from her hospital bed a few hours later that she was repeatedly stabbed by a group of Black Lives Matter supporters.
She said she was stabbed in her back three times and the wounds collapsed one of her lungs.
Beatty said her liver also sustained damage from one of the cuts.
Police said that two other people were also stabbed during the attack.
DC Metropolitan Police Lieutenant Ralph Neal announced early Wednesday morning that the victims of the attack were members of the Proud Boys and the suspects were with Black Lives Matter, WUSA reported.
Black Lives Matter activists expressed outrage at being blamed in the attack and hours later, Lt. Neal retracted that statement and said police were unable to confirm the victims’ or suspects’ affiliations.
However, the chairman of the Proud Boys – Enrique Tarrio – has confirmed that he was one of the people involved in the brawl, the Daily Mail reported.
And Beatty very clearly identified her attackers as Black Lives Matter in her video.
The woman who filmed the video of the attack has been identified as Jen Loh, former president of Latinos for Trump, the Daily Mail reported.
Police are searching for two men and one woman featured on the video in connection with the stabbings, WRC reported.
About 200 rioters took to the streets in Raleigh, North Carolina, according to WRAL.
Some burned American flags, while others chanted “Whoever wins [the election], we lose,” WRAL reported.
Police declared an unlawful assembly after the mob attacked them with fireworks.
Six people were arrested on a variety of charges, including assault on a law enforcement officer, obstructing, resisting, and failure to disperse, WRAL reported.
Rioters in Minneapolis marched down Lyndale Avenue on Tuesday night, blocking intersections, launching off “large firecrackers,” and throwing road signs and other debris into the roadway, the Star Tribune reported.
They vandalized storefronts with spray paint while marching with a banner that read, “America is Over!” according to the paper.
Police held back until the mob attacked them with fireworks.
Police moved us, along with other people at Bryant Square Park, across the street. Now holding the line #wcco pic.twitter.com/21rwHRxJz2
— Jennifer Mayerle (@jennifermayerle) November 4, 2020
They arrested a total of 14 people on charges of fourth-degree assault and/or rioting during the overnight mayhem, the Star Tribune reported.
Bystanders screamed at police as they were taking the rioters into custody, and demanded that they get out of the neighborhood, according to the paper.
Rioters in Chicago lifted a bridge to cut off access to the downtown area overnight, USA Today reported.
Members of the Illinois National Guard have arrived in the city and are currently on standby.
In Seattle, protesters marched through the downtown area expressing their distrust of both political candidates, KING reported.
A motorist drove through a police barricade at one point during the night and was arrested, according to the news outlet.
Police said no one was injured during the incident.
.@SeattlePD just arrested someone at Mercer/Fairview. Officer smashed vehicle window and arrested man. Group continued marching south. pic.twitter.com/PY0Alii2SU
— Ted Land (@TedLandK5) November 4, 2020
Another rioter was arrested for bashing a parking meter with a hammer, police said.
A group of officers ended up shattering the window of a pickup with a baton while taking another suspect into custody, video footage showed.
The rioter fought with police and was taken to the ground.
Members of the group also hauled barriers out into the roadway during the chaos, KIRO reported.
Seattle police arrested at least eight people overnight.
The destruction and mayhem continued in Portland, where antifa burned an American flag out in front of the federal courthouse, journalist Andy Ngo tweeted.
A symbolic end to Election Day in Portland.
While chanting, “Black lives matter,” antifa burn a US flag in front of the federal courthouse. In their speeches, they said they will continue fighting regardless of who wins because the real enemy is the US. pic.twitter.com/SQpe8j1LPz
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) November 4, 2020
An estimated 300 people partook in the “All Power To The People” march, which kicked off at Southeast Portland’s Revolution Hall at approximately 8 p.m., KATU reported.
Tonight, around 300 BLM-antifa shut down residential areas of SE Portland. They had a motor blockade & people on bikes who blocked nearby streets. Their armed security team included those w/semi-auto rifles, shotguns, bats & more. They harassed businesses & people at their homes. pic.twitter.com/wyeE3zd0Hd
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) November 4, 2020
The group clambered through residential neighborhoods, demanding for people to come outside.
“No one cares about your white -ss opinion!” one rioter yelled at a resident standing out on a porch, video footage showed. “Who do you think you are telling black people how to protest? You f—king white -ss privilege old man!”
“You ask for a peaceful protest – it’s white supremacy!” another member of the crowd chimed in. “Asking for people to be peaceful is white supremacy!”
"Asking for people to be peaceful is white supremacy"
On election night in Portland, hundreds of protesters shut down the streets of SE Portland. They confronted Portlanders at their homes, including a family with a "Biden Harris" sign. #BLM #antifa https://t.co/DIVMm71ifJ pic.twitter.com/ahmJrGBQtL
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) November 4, 2020
The unruly mob eventually circled back to Revolution Hall.
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) issued an alert on behalf of the unified command at approximately 8 p.m., notifying residents that some members of the group were seen “openly carrying firearms.”
Rioters lit yet another fire at the site of the historic Elk Statue they previously destroyed and chanted “black lives matter” outside the Multnomah County Justice Center in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Sandy Malone
