There were two different BLM events in Raleigh, NC over the weekend. During the day Saturday there was a small event with about 100 people that remained peaceful. But after dark a separate event became destructive. Police arrested 12 people after some in the crowd began setting fires and breaking windows.
Fifteen businesses in downtown Raleigh sustained an estimated $76,000 worth of damage during a protest Saturday night, according to police reports.
Among the damaged businesses and buildings were Brewery Bhavana, Bida Manda, Pour House, Indy Week, One City Plaza and the Raleigh City Bus Terminal.
Among those reporting the most damage, Beasley’s Chicken+Honey on South Wilmington Street sustained an estimated $20,000 in damage to seven windows, according to police incident reports requested by The News & Observer. One City Plaza sustained an estimated $15,000 in damage to three windows.
Some images of the damage:
Glass smashed in the front of One City Plaza @ABC11_WTVD pic.twitter.com/5NW0hZxHy6
— Ana Rivera (@AnaRiveraABC11) September 27, 2020
.@BeasleysChicken has A LOT of damage. People are already out cleaning up the broken glass. @ABC11_WTVD pic.twitter.com/Gi0rMSAD0i
— Ana Rivera (@AnaRiveraABC11) September 27, 2020
The mayor is blaming the nighttime damage on white anarchists who she says are there to “cause chaos.”
Mayor of Raleigh Mary-Ann Baldwin has continued to say that the protesters who have caused destruction are mostly white and do not care about peace.
She said that the goal of tonight’s protest was “simply to cause chaos.”
“What Raleigh experienced tonight was wrong and had very little to do with any call for justice,” Baldwin said. “The city prepared an opportunity for those who wanted to protest peacefully, and once again, vandals (mostly white) used this as an excuse to incite violence and cause destruction of our downtown business community. Any message of support for Breonna Taylor was usurped by protestors who do not care about peace; they came here with the goal of destruction.”
Mayor Baldwin also said that it was clear the violence was the intent because the group immediately began trying to get people to shut off cameras:
“Their message from the moment they gathered right across here in Nash Square to the media was, ‘shut off your cameras, because things are going to get bad’,” Baldwin said.
Video shows that did happen Saturday night. This is from a local news channel, WTVD in Durham:
While we were filming a group of protesters ran up and stuck their umbrellas in our cameras. They claim we are putting their lives in danger by filming them. @ABC11_WTVD pic.twitter.com/OTwAn7kEfK
— Ana Rivera (@AnaRiveraABC11) September 27, 2020
Rivera and her team retreated to their car because they were being harassed by the protesters. From a distance, the “protesters” could be seen fighting with police over barriers and setting of fireworks.
We are back on Fayetteville Street because this happened. Protesters tried to take down the gates on front of the @WakeSheriff office then someone let off fireworks. @ABC11_WTVD pic.twitter.com/pprA7h2dlH
— Ana Rivera (@AnaRiveraABC11) September 27, 2020
As you can see from the video from CBS 17 below, not all of those arrested were white but so far the people arrested have mostly been charged with public disturbance and unlawful assembly. Raleigh Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown said more arrests are coming once the property damage is investigated.
