50 protesters gathered last night in San Francisco’s Dolores Park for what was billed as “The Strike Starts Early Street Party.” Party? We think they spelled “violent riot” wrong.
https://twitter.com/#!/Jayron26/status/197288637459726337
They paint-bombed and broke some of the windows at Mission Police Station, according to officer Daza. By then a group of about 50 had moved to other restaurants north of Valencia Street.
Armed with crowbars, bats and other metal objects, a group of protesters smashed businesses windows in a five block stretch of Valencia Street, from 18th Street to Duboce Avenue.
The bar manager at Locanda, Gabriel Lowe remembers hearing three loud bangs, when he looked out the window he saw a protester throwing paint sacks at the storefront. Several witnesses said they saw a protester trying to break the windows with the valet parking sign that’s in front of the restaurant.
The “street partiers” also smashed windshields, slashed tires, and hit one man with a crowbar. Police received 500 reports of damage.
https://twitter.com/#!/kr3at/status/197203040061751296
https://twitter.com/#!/radicalbytes/status/197224184563236865
https://twitter.com/#!/WeROccupyUnited/status/197190176517263360
https://twitter.com/#!/MikeQtips/status/197179440877412352
https://twitter.com/#!/pixplz/status/197181773661224960/
https://twitter.com/#!/scottanansi/status/197266798121463808
Luckily, the Occupy San Francisco protesters remain steadfastly committed to non-violence:
https://twitter.com/#!/Pete_TheKiller/status/197254719222185984
Non-violence like this, “Pete_TheKiller”?
https://twitter.com/#!/MikeQtips/status/197240303705538560
An eyewitness describes the scene:
https://twitter.com/#!/eastbayradical/status/197219972525719552
https://twitter.com/#!/eastbayradical/status/197220927883317250
https://twitter.com/#!/eastbayradical/status/197221210545852416
https://twitter.com/#!/eastbayradical/status/197224699984486400
But not everyone thinks it was a big deal.
https://twitter.com/#!/roamingradical/status/197225009746419713
Many Occupiers tried to distance themselves from the mayhem, which appeared to be dominated by protesters wearing Black Bloc masks:
https://twitter.com/#!/MikeQtips/status/197177903300096000
https://twitter.com/#!/roamingradical/status/197220476760752128
But Black Bloc isn’t accepting the blame either:
https://twitter.com/#!/AnonNCarolina2/status/197199700967952384
So if it wasn’t Occupy or Black Bloc, who were the rioters? Must be … agent provocateurs!
https://twitter.com/#!/johnsin/status/197148383360720896
https://twitter.com/#!/scottanansi/status/197195176152797184
Or maybe misguided protesters trashing the wrong kind of property:
https://twitter.com/#!/schleprock/status/197193716883132419
https://twitter.com/#!/JustLexThen/status/197295769273896960
Occupiers claim the police kept their distance:
https://twitter.com/#!/sf99er/status/197269753247694848
https://twitter.com/#!/AnonSikko/status/197256944791191552
https://twitter.com/#!/sf99er/status/197227797675114497
We’re wondering, Occupiers, any plans for keeping these protests from erupting into the violence we’ve come to expect?
https://twitter.com/#!/MikeQtips/status/197284885893885952
Nah, no plans for that. That would be unnecessary:
https://twitter.com/#!/anarchoprole/status/197273594034798593
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