A man attending a demonstration in Rochester, New York, was struck by a car on Sunday, while police have launched an investigation in Pittsburgh after protesters harassed restaurant diners, as protests took place across the US over Labor Day Weekend.
Social media has been flooded with a mix of footage showing peaceful anti-racism and police brutality protests, chaotic clashes with law enforcement and heavily-armed demonstrators from both sides of the political spectrum.
The demonstrations are in response to several black Americans who have died in police custody, with the recently shared footage of the death of Daniel Prude in March, sparking the new wave of outrage.
One protest, in Pittsburgh on Saturday, showed a crowd of demonstrators including a man with a megaphone, yelling at restaurant diners and calling them ’embarrassments’. Footage showed the crowd taking over the outdoor dining space with one person even approaching an older couple’s table, and drinking their beer in front of them, while another smashed a table’s glasses on the ground.
Meanwhile in Rochester on Friday, an unidentified man who among protesters at an anti racism rally was struck by a vehicle in shocking footage.
A man attending a demonstration in Rochester, New York, was struck by a car on Sunday
The driver of the vehicle was spraying yellow paint at demonstrators as he drove through the crowd and hit the unidentified man on Friday night in Rochester, New York
When demonstrators entered the outdoor dining space, one person took a couples’ drink and drank it herself before leaving
A video shows the demonstrator with the megaphone and others calling restaurant diners ’embarrassments’
Demonstrators take part in a protest over the death of a Black man, Daniel Prude, after police put a spit hood over his head during an arrest in March, in Rochester, New York
A demonstrator wear protective glasses, a hoodies and holds a trash can top as a makeshift shield as he takes part in a demonstration on Sunday in Rochester
Shared by Carolyn Delvecchio Hoffman to Storyful, the minute-long footage shows a group of demonstrators standing in an intersection during the city’s third night of protest.
Protesters watch a vehicle turning right out of the intersection with a screech, but a few voices suddenly scream out in warning.
Seconds later, a red vehicle accelerates into the crowd and the driver unleashes a wave of yellow spray paint at protesters.
Meanwhile, the unidentified man was crouching down on the concrete and did not see the vehicle coming in time.
The man manages to jump in the air, but is still hit by the vehicle and thrown to the ground.
The group of witnesses then call for volunteer medics as the man remains on the ground.
Hoffman told Storyful: ‘The driver was not arrested at the scene. Volunteer medics responded to the injured protestors.’
She added that over the course of the night she was shot with rubber bullets and pepper spray during confrontations with the Rochester Police Department.
On Saturday, Police used batons, pepper balls and tear gas to push back about 2,000 protesters who marched toward the Public Safety Building on Saturday night, chanting ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘Daniel Prude.’
The Rochester Police Department said in a statement that protesters had ignored their orders to disperse, and that some hurled bottles, rocks and fireworks at officers.
The Democrat & Chronicle reports that a group of local ‘elders’ arrived early to the protest to act as a human barricade between demonstrators and the Rochester Police Department,
The demonstration held in Rochester, New York, on Sunday night was the fourth consecutive protest in the city over the death of Daniel Prude
Demonstrators hold signs reading ‘Black Lives Matter’ while standing outside in the streets of Rochester on Sunday to continue to protest the death of Daniel Prude
Sunday’s protest ended peacefully with demonstrators playing music and dancing outside the Public Safety Building in Rochester
Two demonstrators hold up signs reading ‘Defund The Police’ on Sunday after protests sparked in Rochester, New York, this week
The term ‘elders’ in this instance refers to a respected community member, not necessarily a senior citizen.
The idea came out when Mayor Lovely Warren met with Rev. Myra Brown of Spiritus Christi Church to discuss rising tensions among community members.
The ‘elders,’ Warren said, ‘will allow our protesters to exercise their First Amendment right to assemble free from distress while our officers protect the public safety building.’
By 8pm on Sunday, a rally had begun on Jefferson Avenue, the street where Prude was restrained by officers and suffocated to death, and continued to the Public Safety Building.
Once at the Public Safety Building, protesters made calls for police reform and an end to inequality.
The night ended with music and dancing in front of the Public Safety Building
In Pittsburgh, police have launched an investigation after footage showed an altercation between protesters and civilians eating dinner.
The incident happened while a group of protesters were marching through the city past businesses and restaurants.
The first video shows one demonstrator speaking with a megaphone while walking next to a cyclist.
It’s unclear what is said, but the demonstrator nudges the cyclist with his megaphone.
People look at a makeshift memorial during a protest over the death of a Black man, Daniel Prude, after police put a spit hood over his head during an arrest and died from ‘complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint’
Authorities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, are investigating after social media footage showed demonstrators and civilians clashing on Saturday
One demonstrator and a cyclist get into a brief slapping match as other watch the exchange from restaurants and businesses (pictured_
The cyclist swats the demonstrator in response, but a second protester hits the man from behind,
The night before, the Mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was confronted over his city’s policies and law enforcement at his home by upset residents.
Around 100 people met in the East Liberty neighborhood for ‘Civil Saturdays,’ the name given to their continued protests, they traveled through downtown.
The Post-Gazzette reports that Saturday’s demonstration was meant to disrupt restaurant diners and residents with a call for Black Lives Matter.
‘Out of the bars and into the streets,’ the group chanted.
The eventually rounded to the home of Mayor Bill Peduto after criminal charges were filed against four protest leaders.
Once outside Peduto’s home, demonstrators were met with a half-dozen Pittsburgh police officers standing in front of the mayor’s door.
After standing there for a short time, Post-Gazzette reports that officers began putting on their riot helmets.
‘I don’t see a riot here why are you in riot gear?’ protesters chanted in response.
The group eventually left Peduto’s home and the demonstration peacefully dispersed just after 10pm.
Mayor Peduto’s home was surrounded by a line of Pittsburgh police officers who stood guard at the front door (pictured)
A crowd of demonstrators hold their fists in the air in solidarity on Sunday night as they protest the death of Daniel Prude and other black Americans who died in police custody
Pictured: a protester wearing protective gear and holding a makeshift shield stands among a crowd of other demonstrators in Rochester
In Portland, Oregon, officials revealed that 59 people had been arrested on the 101st night of protests in the city – a new record.
The majority of arrests were over low-level misdemeanors that Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt said he will dismiss, Oregon Live reports.
Oregon State Police was responsible for 16 of the 59 arrests, and they have not yet released the identities.
A rally and march at Alberta Park was scheduled to take place on Sunday, but authorities later received word that protesters were outside the North Precinct blocking traffic.
KOIN reports that a fire was started on NE MLK Boulevard, and fire emergency crews put out the flames without further incident.
The night before, hundreds of protesters continued to clash with law enforcement as nearly 30 people were arrested, a swarm of fireworks were launched into the air and one person caught on fire from a deployed Molotov cocktail.
In one video, officers implore residents to disperse from the area as Molotov cocktails crash against the pavement and fire erupts.
‘This has been declared an unlawful assembly,’ officers say. ‘All persons immediately leave the area. Failure to adhere to this order may subject you too arrest, citation or the use of crowd control agents including but not limited to tear gas and, or impact weapons.’
During the 100th night of protest in Portland, a man’s shoes caught on fire after some people launched Molotov cocktails into roadways
Seconds later, a Molotov cocktail is thrown but drops dangerously close to a protester standing in the roadway.
A wave a gasps are heard as a man rushes out of the inferno with both his feet on fire. The man desperately tries to kick the fire away but needs assistance from other demonstrators.
‘Stop, drop and roll!’ one person shouts. The man on fire rolls across the ground but is forced to take his shoes off as the fire continues to burn the fabric.
After the riot was declared, a BLM ‘snack van’ that hands out food to protesters pulled up to an intersection blocked by police and faced officers in a tense standoff.
When a line of riot police charged the BLM demonstrators they scattered, and officers were filmed sprinting after the fleeing protesters down normally quiet streets lined with family homes, pinning them to the ground and cuffing them while others shouted insults and taunts.
A protester holds a megaphone as he takes part in a protest outside the Portland Police Bureau’s North Precinct on the 101th consecutive night of protests against police violence and racial inequality in Portland
Protesters gather outside the Portland Police Bureau’s North Precinct on the 101th consecutive night of protests against police violence and racial inequality
Authorities in Portland said they arrested 59 people – a record – between Saturday night and Sunday morning
Neighbors blocked their roads with traffic cones and barrels to prevent protesters parking and joining the demonstration that devolved into a riot.
A local standing outside his home told DailyMail.com that at one point a line of hundreds of marchers trooping down East Burnside Street by Ventura Park stretched almost twenty city blocks.
Earlier this week, a woman in Washington D.C. was cornered by a group of anti-racism protester outside a restaurant.
The crowd, which has come together to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, gathered outside restaurants, alternately accusing diners of enjoying ‘white privilege’ and encouraging them to show support for their protest.
At one table, a young man who objected to the intrusion tried to explain that he worked for a nonprofit organization committed to addressing mental health care for black people and other underserved populations.
Protesters crowded in further around the table, shining video lights in the diners’ eyes and exchanging angry words.
As they moved into the Adams Morgan district, the unrest continued, with Victor’s table outside a Mexican restaurant, Los Cuates, being singled out.
White protesters were reportedly encouraged to go to the front, to challenge their fellow caucasians.
‘White silence is violence!’ protesters chanted, many with fists in the air.
‘Are you a Christian?’ a protester demanded, yelling into her face, before others demanded she raise her fist.
Victor refused, even after her dining companion complied.
She’s since said she didn’t appreciate the group’s approach, but still support the cause.
In another incident, diners in Rochester were also confronted by a large group of protesters.
A large group of demonstrators caused diners to flee when they surrounded a New York restaurant during a protest over the death of Daniel Prude in New York
Many look terrified as demonstrators smashed the customer’s glasses in front of their faces, broke plates, overturned chairs and chanted at them to get out.
‘We’re shutting your party down,’ one woman is seen shouting in the face of a diner, in footage taken by FreedomNewsTV.
One woman whose clothing got caught up as she tried to run from the incoming crowd.
‘No need to run,’ a protester told her. ‘Nobody is hurting you. Nobody’s going to touch you…we’re shutting the party down.’
The crowd chants, ‘If you don’t give us our s***,’ we shut s*** down.’