A video taken in Pittsburgh shows Black Lives Matter protesters shouting at elderly diners during a protest, while another shows a New York restaurant being smashed up without provocation. No arrests were made at either incident.
In the first video, a small group, who appear to be part of a much larger peaceful rally, surround older white people calmly eating and drinking outside a restaurant. The BLM breakaway mob then begin harassing those seated.
PITTSBURGH PA pic.twitter.com/PxZGxpJIca
— Next POTUS - Dr RollerGator PhD Rt'd by DJT (@drrollergator) September 6, 2020
A man shouts at the diners through a megaphone and then another man approaches them and aggressively shouts:
"F*ck [the Police] and f*ck you white people that built the system set against mine, you old dick."
A woman then walks towards them and starts taking their drinks and drinking them. The mob then continue to try to intimidate those sat calmly. A second video involving the same mob shows them harassing the manager of a fast-food restaurant:
Pittsburgh has fallen.
— DEB-PLORABLE 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@DebHaslam) September 8, 2020
BLM doesn’t care about black lives, as you can see here at this McDonald’s restaurant where they assaulted the manager...who is black.
Note how this manager doesn’t back down though either.#BLMTerroristThugs #EnoughIsEnough
pic.twitter.com/B4XeVEESg3
A similar, more violent scene occurred in Rochester, New York, just days ago, when a BLM group went into an outside dining area and began smashing tables and glasses in front of unsuspecting customers.
Rochester has been at the centre of protests since the release of police bodycam footage showing the death of Daniel Prude, a mentally ill man who died of asphyxiation while in police custody.
In both incidents, there does not seem to be any provocation by diners or any reason to target those businesses in particular. The actions have been condemned by some BLM protest leaders and, in both videos, other protesters can be seen arguing with the breakaway mobs.
BLM protests continue to take place across the country and show no sign of abating. While incidents like this have occurred, research carried out by The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) at Princeton University analysed more than 7,750 BLM protests and found that 93% of them ended without any injuries to protesters or law enforcement officials, nor did they involve any damage to property.
The movement, while existing for years, has gained momentum since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. Since then, incidents such as the killing of Daniel Prude in Rochester and the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, followed by the killing of two BLM supporters by a militia gunman, have only hardened the group's resolve.
As the US nears a crucial election in November, many fear that the chaos may get worse.
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