[2dogs]

http:///www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/01/19/MN126125.DTL

200 renegades go on rampage in S.F.

Tom Abate, Tyche Hendricks, Chronicle Staff Writers Sunday, January 19, 2003

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A splinter group of more than 200 black-clad protesters broke off from Saturday's peaceful rally and went on a brief romp through the Financial District, smashing windows and news racks before melting away before the eyes of frustrated police.

A police spokesman said officers made two arrests.

The angry demonstration began about 4:40 p.m. when a group of demonstrators beating drums and waving black-and-red flags blocked traffic at Fifth and Mission streets.

The mostly young activists, some with handkerchiefs covering their mouths and noses, turned onto Market Street, followed by police on bicycles.

The protest escalated to vandalism as the group turned up Sansome Street, spray-painting anti-war messages on the Citicorp Building.

Demonstrators used news racks and iron bars to smash a glass door at the Immigration and Naturalization Service building. As police rushed forward to protect the entry, the march turned south on Battery, smashing a window in a Starbucks coffee shop.

Dozens of police officers followed, some on horseback and motorcycles. The tactical squad, riding in vans, poured out in an effort to protect the plate- glass windows of stores and banks.

At Market Street the group took over the westbound traffic lane before heading into the Powell Street BART station, where they jumped turnstiles and left police smacking their palms with batons.

"I've been to a couple of rallies in San Francisco, but this is the most intense stuff I've seen," said Andrew Thompson, 27, a graduate student from Arcata in Humboldt County.

[El Tejon]

Black and red? Neo-fascists supporting their bestest buddy Saddam?

[m.i.sanders]

Products of our outstanding government led schools most likely.

Idiots.

[Bottom Gun]

Vandalizing for peace. :uhoh:

[NewShooter78]

I often wonder where these people learn their reasoning skills. I was in college not too long ago (graduated in 2000), and while I was a business major, I never had teachers trying to convert us into leftist domestic terrorist. Maybe I was lucky to have gone to college in Tennessee and not on the west coast. Maybe we could set up a citizen swap with some of our European "allies" and let all the troll wannabee's move over there while we could have their gun supporting libertarians move here with us.

[10-Ring]

I grew up in Berkeley CA, where students really knew how to protest! :neener:

I guess on one hand, you've got your freedom of speech exercise regardless of how wrong it may be. While on the other, at some point academia has to realize the difference between peace at any cost vs. doing what's right.

[Skunkabilly]

Koreatown. I dare them :D

[4v50 Gary]

Black & red - anarchists. Next time it should be coordinated with the BART cops & sheriff & CHP who should be waiting downstairs. Use the staircase as a choke point. SFPD drives them downstairs while BART, Sherriff & CHP holds them at bottom. Like rats in a trap. Round up the usual suspects. Arrest, ID, prosecute and then we'll know who the trouble makers are for all the other demonstrations. Paddy wagons should have speakers to play martial music or opera (why not piss them off?) while they're being driven to Candlestick Park for ID, Cite & Release (and a long walk back through a rough neighborhood). Gary "the Hun." :D

[Frohickey]

I really don't get it.

Why not during the next protest, just take police out of the immediate area. Let the protestors do what they want. Bring in the media, and let the media broadcast everything they want to broadcast.

I want to see the reaction to the protest/vandalism/looting when it they really turn it up.

Either the next protest will be much larger than the one that was televised, or the country will be repulsed at the protestors and the next protest will be met with armed shopkeepers/owners

[Chris Rhines]

These twits were no more anarchists than I am a republican. Screw them.

- Chris

[NewShooter78]

10-Ring,

We have the right to "peasable" protest, not violence and vandalism.

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

[El Tejon]

Gary, thanks. Never ran into them where I was in undergrad or grad. We all had jobs (but did have a lot of fun after Ortega lost).:D

[Skunkabilly]

Kirk, where'd you go to skul and who's Ortega? A hot sauce?

[Malone LaVeigh]

Keep in mind, this was about 200 out of at least 200,000 at the march. I stood on the corner of Larkin and McAlister for 2 1/2 hours while the procession filed past. They were densely packed across both lanes of the street and both sidewalks. I saw no acts of violence, and even fewer offensive displays than I have in the past. (Well, there were the 3 naked guys, but that's another story...) The crowd I observed was remarkably middle class, with all age groups well represented.

By 4:40 the march was long over. These were some troublemakers who decided to go off on their own after the march and break some stuff. Protest organizers always have to deal with the black crowd of self-styled anarchists. I personally think thet whether or not they're actually agents of the state, they certainly did a good day's work for Bush and Rumsfeld. Luckily, for once, the media mostly covered the overall event and didn't focus on the fringe.

Edited to correct # of rads.

[Khornet]

source?

[Malone LaVeigh]

The best source in the world... me. I measure flow for a living. I have a pretty good idea how wide the channel was, how dense the people were, and how fast they were moving. Of course, it's back-of-the-envelope calculating, but I'm usually pretty close. It also happens to be close to the number that the organizers gave and that some of the media were reporting. Also, keep in mind that a large number came to the rally, but not the march.

I heard a rumor that the organizers had hired a flight to take photos from which a good estimate could be made. There were several helicopters overhead, so I would think someone would have good footage. There shouldn't be any reason for controversy on this. The police always grossly underestimate crowds, and usually the media also.

[10-Ring]

NewShooter78 - I have no problem w/ you exercising your freedoms, regardless of how misguided your opinion may be.

[Khornet]

but there has been a lot of fudging of crowd size in these DC demonstrations and elsewhere, and I keep a skeptical attitude. Depending on the cause, media will report big numbers or downplay them. This fall, I think it was, there was a very large demo in support of Israel which got little or no coverage, while pro-palestinian events got puffed up.

[El Tejon]

Skunk, Daniel Ortega, the dictator of Nicaragua, the heartthrob of the peacenik crowd/poli sci department a little over 10 years ago. No they have Saddam. Talk about scrapping the bottom of the barrel.:D

[Frohickey]

Keep in mind, this was about 200 out of at least 200,000 at the march. I stood on the corner of Larkin and McAlister for 2 1/2 hours while the procession filed past.

By 4:40 the march was long over. These were some troublemakers whodecided to go off on their own after the march and break some stuff.


I know that this is anecdotal evidence, but I was listening to KGO-AM on Sunday morning, when a girl from Colorado down in San Francisco for the anti-war protest calls in. The radio-host and the girl were chatting away and the radio-host asked why the girl was not out in San Francisco again doing the anti-war protest on Sunday. She didn't really give a straight answer as to why not until the radio-host asked if its because they have to start going back to Colorado. She said that she wasn't there on Sunday because none of the group she was in was ready to be arrested. Sounds like this 'spontaneous vandalism/mayhem' is not as spontaneous at all. But I don't have definitive proof.