City Hall, jail vandalized during Sacramento march. One woman was arrested, police said
One woman was arrested Saturday night after protests in the streets of downtown Sacramento over police killings turned destructive.
Sacramento Police Department spokesman Officer Karl Chan said several reports of vandalism were made after a smaller group split off from a larger protest after a peaceful march through the city.
Around 7 p.m., protesters led a march from Cesar E. Chavez Plaza to the state Capitol in order to speak out against the killing of Black people in police custody. Since the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, demonstrations have been a common sight in Sacramento, although the extent of vandalism seen Saturday came short of that in late May and early June, when many downtown businesses were broken into and cleaned out.
Saturday’s protest didn’t rise to the level of theft, according to Chan. But after about 150 protesters broke off from the main group and began their own downtown march, windows at City Hall were shattered and protest slogans were spray-painted onto the front doors of the Sacramento County Main Jail.
Along H and I streets, large trash bins were dragged into the roadway, blocking traffic. Police radio dispatches indicated that one person, armed with a chainsaw, was cutting down branches from nearby trees and leaving them strewn about. Police said that law enforcement helicopters were targeted with laser pointers, which may cause disorientation or temporary blindness in pilots, potentially resulting in crashes.
After the march, officers took one woman into custody on suspicion of spray painting City Hall. She, like many others in the area, was equipped with body armor and rocks, according to police. Chan said detectives will be following up on reported vandalism and will try to acquire surveillance footage for evidence, although several marchers painted over cameras as they were passing by.
“Based on the preliminary investigation, detectives know that protesters attending this march were told to be prepared to use a variety of tactics that could be unlawful,” Sacramento police said in a news release.
A recently formed anonymous group of protesters, known variously as Sac Activists or Sactivists, appeared to be present in the splinter group, posting video from the jail and elsewhere in the downtown area to social media, but said that a few unaffiliated individuals were responsible for the vandalism.
The group said that “five to seven people” who “don’t represent Black Lives Matter” were breaking things “for no reason.”
Antifa Sacramento, a local group of activists who rally around anti-fascist politics, voiced its “total solidarity (with) the inspiring march that went through midtown & downtown Sac tonight!”
Antifa activists also noted that the Mastagni Holstedt law firm, which specializes in employment law and has represented police officers, was targeted. Windows at the I Street law offices were reportedly smashed.
This story was originally published July 26, 2020 at 10:55 AM.
