The armed white men who terrorized Philadelphia's Black Lives Matter supporters
Source: The Guardian
The armed white men who terrorized Philadelphia’s Black Lives Matter supporters
Protesters reported men ripping up signs, yelling homophobic slurs, and spitting on people. And the police greeted them as friends
Maanvi Singh
Thu 4 Jun 2020 20.35 BST
Last modified on Fri 5 Jun 2020 03.21 BST
As thousands in Philadelphia marched to end police brutality against Black Americans on Monday, a group of white men carrying bats, golf clubs, and other improvised weapons gathered in the city’s Fishtown neighborhood.
Drawing comparisons to brownshirts, the group of about 50 to 70 men were filmed heckling and threatening a small group of protesters in the neighborhood.
One of the men was recorded ripping up a protester’s Black Lives Matter sign while yelling homophobic slurs. A producer for WHYY, the local public radio station, tweeted that he was beaten up after trying to film the group. A few men were spotted with rifles.
Link to tweet
Clara, 30, a Fishtown resident who encountered the group as she set out of her house on Monday evening with two of her roommates carrying Black Lives Matter signs, told the Guardian that one of the men shoved her roommate and spat on her. “He said he had Covid,” said Clara, who asked the Guardian to identify her by her nickname for fear of reprisal. “If they felt so bold as to spit on us and shove us in broad daylight, in front of a police station, what would they do to a more vulnerable person?” she said.
And whereas the Philadelphia police kettled in hundreds of peaceful protesters marching along the expressway just southwest of Fishtown, and doused them in teargas even before the city’s 6pm curfew hit on Monday, they did little to rein in the group of white self-described vigilantes, witnesses said.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/04/philadelphia-armed-white-men-george-floyd-protests
= new reply since forum marked as read
MF in Philly.
