Minneapolis Solidarity Demo in Oakland
Tonight, 8pm, Oscar Grant Plaza
Be safe out there
#JusticeforGeorgeFloyd https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2020/05/28/18833331.php

Black Lives Matter horse in front of city at Oscar Grant plaza.
#Oakland
#JusticeforGeorgeFloyd

A few hundred here already in Oakland in solitary with #GeorgeFloyd and #Minneapolis. More streaming in every minute. Most arrive in groups which is good safety protocol.

Stores all around are boarded up in case Oakland's history of smashy protests possibly plays out again.

Maybe 500 or more in the plaza now chanting Fuck the Police.
#Oakland
#JusticeforGeorgeFloyd

Folks streaming in by the hundreds. This is going to be big.
#Oakland #GeorgeFloyd

Crowd overflowing into the streets. Easily over 1000 people here now, perhaps approaching 2k.

Banner pays tribute to four major anti-police rebellions of the last decade.
#Oakland 2009
#Ferguson 2014
#Baltimore 2015
#Minneapolis 2020

Police surely are staging nearby. No large presence near the plaza right now.

Everyone is flooding out of the plaza, marching south on Broadway chanting No Justice No Peace No Racist Police
#Oakland #GeorgeFloyd

Pretty colored but stinky protester smoke.

March zigzagging, moving quickly.  Turned east on 12th then south on Franklin.
#Oakland #GeorgeFloyd

Wells Fargo takes a few small hits.

OPD has a big line of effort cops on 7th at Broadway to protect their HQ. March fragments, some heading east on 7th, others to confront police.

90+% of march is heading east on 7th Street, passing Webster now.

Say his name #GeorgeFloyd

CHP in riot gear are blocking freeway onramp.

All decked out.

Crowd inches forward.
#Oakland #GeorgeFloyd

Hundreds made it up offramp on the other side of 880 in 5th St, but turned around after CHP vehicles on freeway ran sirens. Back on street level heading north on Jackson then west on 7th. Some remain at 880 on onramp. Protesters splintering a bit.

Marchers in into hundreds going east on 7th and turned back around toward on/offramps. Some protesters must have remained on 880 because traffic is stopped. A few blurry figures seen here.

CHP has dozens and dozens of cops here. This is up Jackson onramp at Alice.

Back up 7th toward downtown, police flashbangs seen going off,smoke and light flashes on buildings.

Graffiti on 7th

Police said 3 minutes to disperse then started firing explosive teargas up 7th a good minute before time.
#Oakland #GeorgeFloyd

Teargas everywhere. Up 8th St and Broadway in these two photos. Small crews breaking off now and smashing and painting call over in vicinity. Good job, Schaaf, you've spread protesters all over downtown.

Oddly, police repeating 3 minute warning again. "If you do not move, chemical agents will be released," as teargas wafts everywhere.
#Oakland #GeorgeFloyd

Entire blocks are boarded up, so a lot of the graffiti is on plywood.

Wind keeps changing direction so it's tricky to remain upwind of teargas. Much of what was released on Broadway blew back on cops protecting their headquarters.

Fuck OPD

Either flashbangs or large fireworks going off near Oscar Grant plaza. Police helicopter shining light on intersection.

Marriott covered in graffiti

This Wells Fargo has been hit many times over the last decade. Wonder how long ACAB was up before windows smashed.

Walgreens at 14th and Broadway has been reopened. Can hear more police munitions going off by OPD HQ down the street.

Barricade in the middle of Broadway.

Plywood couldn't save Chase bank either, a frequent target over the years.

The other side of Chase on 14th.

Stop Line 3

A lot of smoke coming out of the Walgreens.

Firetruck approached from east up 14th toward Walgreens, then turned around. Crowd cheered.

Dumpster fire at 14th and Clay

Police line moving up 14th toward Broadway. Set off about 3 teargas charges, stopped next to city hall. The smell of Walgreens burning is in the air.

FTP
ACAB
Say Her Name
on city hall

City Hall doors facing the plaza

Cops set off major release of teargas on 14th that floated into the plaza. Got caught downwind. Ugh.

OPD form line around plaza side of city hall. Most have gas masks on.

Earlier, the Starbucks on Clay across from federal building was set on fire.

Stop Killing Black People
#Oakland #GeorgeFloyd

Protesters clearly own the streets tonight. Can't even say police lost control. They never really tried, just set out to protect OPD HQ and freeways, and now city hall.

Cops made a push up 14th to Broadway, set off a ton of teargas, then some moved through plaza. A few overeager cops tossed teargas flashbangs into plaza before others had their masks on, so they got a taste of their own medicine. Most of crowd in intersection went east on 14th.

Stolen Land Stolen People

Police lines move forward, but leave behind them open, not really holding any ground. Can maybe hear another dispersal order somewhere in the distance on Broadway. Helicopter overhead.
#Oakland #GeorgeFloyd

And then the police just randomly leave, crowd cheers in the distance. Smoke still billows out of the Walgreens.

Walgreens

Exploded police munition

There they go, about a half hour ago. Looks like Hayward PD is here providing mutual aid for OPD. They love to bring their armored vehicle to Oakland.

Broadway barricade

Asians for Black Lives

You had it coming Wells Fargo

Downtown Oakland is trashed everywhere you look

Double barricade with chain link fencing across Broadway at 11th St.

Police line holding on Broadway at 10th

What? https://twitter.com/1mikedee/status/1266624465200312321

Indybay recieved report that 49-50 protesters kettled by police at 30th St and Webster.

NLG hotline is 415-285-1011 if you get arrested.
#Oakland #GeorgeFloyd

Chase sprinklers are on and police back at 14th and Broadway.

A lot of teargas going off up Broadway toward Lafayette Square.

The air had been fresh for a while now.

Police moving south on Broadway. More dispersal orders heard from both directions on Broadway. Those nearby largely move to side streets.

Street Medics out treating everything from abrasions to teargas exposure, probably more. Offering pandemic hand sanitizer, too. 
#Oakland #GeorgeFloyd

People literally street racing in their cars and doing donuts all over.

Bail fund taking donations for arrestees:

ARC is the Bay Area Anti-Repression Committee: https://rally.org/ARCbailfund 

#Oakland #GeorgeFloyd

Royal Bling on 14th is probably missing some gold teeth.

A lot of gear walked out of ANB repairs: mac laptops, smartphones, tablets. Then OPD rolled up in their BearCat and folks scattered.

MoneyMart back office was breached.

City of Oakland car won't be going anywhere.

Broken window being covered already.

Santa Cruz sheriff and police here, Watsonville, and Scotts Valley, too.
#Oakland #Minneapolis

A number of unmarked vehicles.

Congregation of cops and 14th and Broadway above. Here's 50 or more on Telegraph and 17th. Don't see any big damage on Tele so far, just graffiti and a number of boarded up windows.

At this point, no groups of protesters bigger than a few dozen seen. Appears most have dispersed, at least from this part of town. Those sticking around yelling at police or just chilling.

Hayward and Oakland cops pack up on Tele. Crowd taunts them as they leave.

This cop from Oakland's Tango team tossed out of few flashbangs before ne left, kept fingering the pin of the next one.

Just as OPD and Hayward PD left, San Francisco PD showed up with an OPD motorcycle gang and formed a line at 17th on Broadway, then left 15 minutes later.

A convoy of cops rolled south on Telegraph and randomly threw several teargas flashbangs out of their windows up 17th street. SFPD and bike cops didn't have gas masks and got it too.

Mini bulldozer and torched traffic signal in the middle of Broadway.

We Buy Gold atore and The Miranda bar beached. Owner was inside good store but didn't stop crowd from entering. 5-0 call went out and folks scattered as OPD rolled up.

First arrest witnessed tonight. OPD says crowd took $30k worth of merchandise from Twilight Zone store further up Broadway and arrestee was last one out, caught with property in hand. Owner grabbed items from sidewalk and went back inside, locked doors.

Only small groups out now. Cars zipping by bumping Fuck Donald Trump with passengers hanging out windows and moon rooves. OPD and other cops driving back and forth looking for stragglers to nab.

Calling it a night for documenting the #Minneapolis solidarity demo in #Oakland.

#BlackLivesMatter banner and no broken windows, like in the old days when some businesses would put Justice for #OscarGrant signs in their windows.

At least two arrested at Blüm weed store on West Grand. Passersby or friend says group went inside and arrestees got caught. Police almost arrested him too for being too close but let him go

Five cops went in with guns drawn to look for others. Search took about 10 minutes. No further arrests.

Okay, that's really it.  Made it off the streets before a slight rain began. Some lighting and thunder, rare for these parts.

Final notes for this thread. The announcement was published anonymously on Indybay. It didn't say "family friendly" and few if any knew who called it, but thousands showed up anyway, knowing it would be a radical and defiant action. No one "hijacked" a "peaceful protest."
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There were barely any words in the plaza, just a few chants like Fuck the Police and I Can't Breathe, then people were eager to hit the streets. No one "led" anyone to do anything they didn't want to do. After OPD started using massive teargas, the huge march fractured.
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