Protests broke out in cities across the U.S. Friday night after the Rittenhouse verdict in Kenosha.
Protests in Kenosha remained mostly peaceful. In New York City, hundreds of protesters marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan and blocked traffic.
During the march, protesters kneeled in a moment of silence for Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, the men shot by Rittenhouse.
At least five people were arrested in Queens for property damage and NYPD shared photos of damaged vehicles online. One car, with handicap plates had “F–k you” spray painted on it.
Around 300 protesters gathered at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center with signs reading “no justice in the capitalist courts” and “capitalism breeds racist terror”.
Over in Oregon, Portland police declared a riot in the downtown area when a protest turned violent near the Multnomah County Justice Center.
The police tweeted “”Due to violent, destructive behavior by a significant part of the crowd, the gathering in downtown Portland is a RIOT. All participants are instructed to proceed away to the WEST” on Friday night.
Rioters smashed windows of businesses, including a print shop, and damaged police vehicles. They also vandalized the downtown precinct.
Police reportedly issued five citations, 17 warnings, and arrested one. The “destructive crowd…dissipated” by Saturday morning, according to a tweet from the Portland Police Bureau.
In Chicago, several stores were targeted by thieves Friday night. 15 men reportedly ran into a Neiman Marcus store and grabbed merchandise before leaving in three vehicles.
A GameStop on the South Side was also broken into. The Chicago Police Department released a statement about the Neiman Marcus theft saying “Multiple offenders pulled up in 2-3 vehicle[s], they exited the vehicle and entered a retail store taking large amounts of merchandise”.
“The offenders then fled in a vehicle. No offenders in custody Area three detectives are investigating,” police said.
It’s unclear how much merchandise was taken from the GameStop and police do not have anyone in their custody as of Saturday morning.
