Sandy MaloneOakland, CA – Rioters vandalized a police station and set the Alameda County Superior Courthouse on fire the night of July 25 in Oakland after an anti-police march through downtown earlier in the evening.
Police said there were about 700 participants in a peaceful march on July 25 before part of the group broke off and began smashing windows and spray-painting graffiti on buildings, ABC News reported.
Rioters also pointed lasers at officers and helicopters in an attempt to blind them.
Police declared an “unlawful assembly” at 11:30 p.m. and told the crowd to disperse, ABC News reported.
Video captured by KPIX showed hundreds of protesters marching through the streets and organizers with bullhorns yelling conflicting instructions.
Oakland police began trying to communicate with the protest organizers via Twitter shortly after midnight.
“Some within the crowd of 100s of demonstrators vandalized the police station. Breaking windows, spray painting, shooting fireworks and pointing lasers at officers and helicopters. We ask for organizers to keep the protest peaceful. #WallofMoms,” police tweeted at 12:18 a.m.
Wall of Moms, patterned after a similar protest in Portland earlier in the week, was one of the groups leading the charge in Oakland on Saturday, ABC News reported.
“We at OPD support your right to demonstrate. We just ask that organizers #WallofMoms Refuse Fascism Bay Area, Vigil for Democracy to help us facilitate safe spaces and safe places for the demonstration,” police tweeted at 12:43 a.m. when the rioting had gotten worse.
“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,” police tweeted at 1:05 a.m.
Oakland PD continued tweeting what was happening in a failed attempt to inspire protest organizers to take control of the situation.
At 1:30 a.m., police tweeted that the Alameda County Superior Courthouse had been set ablaze and asked people to avoid the area.
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
The tweets went on through the night and chronicled events as rioters broke through barricades in front of the police department at 7th and Broadway.
We are asking agitators to stop throwing items and pointing lasers at the officers at 7th & Broadway.
— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) July 26, 2020
This video shows a person knocking down the barricades in front of Police Headquarters after officers called for an unlawful assembly and asked the crowd to disperse. pic.twitter.com/08S5b7IDLo
— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) July 26, 2020
No arrests or injuries were reported from the riots, ABC News reported.
Holly Matkin
