http://twitter.com/#!/Doc_0/status/197284637591093248
50 protesters gathered last night in San Francisco’s Dolores Park for what was billed as “The Strike Starts Early Street Party.” Party? We think they spelled “violent riot” wrong.
DAYUM. Looks the MayDay Pre Party was off the hook in SF. http://t.co/9roCnmkU #OSF #OO #OWS #M1GS #OPDX #OCCUPYLA
— Jayron (@Jayron26) May 1, 2012
They paint-bombed and broke some of the windows at Mission Police Station, according to officer Daza. By then a group of about 50 had moved to other restaurants north of Valencia Street.
Armed with crowbars, bats and other metal objects, a group of protesters smashed businesses windows in a five block stretch of Valencia Street, from 18th Street to Duboce Avenue.
The bar manager at Locanda, Gabriel Lowe remembers hearing three loud bangs, when he looked out the window he saw a protester throwing paint sacks at the storefront. Several witnesses said they saw a protester trying to break the windows with the valet parking sign that’s in front of the restaurant.
The “street partiers” also smashed windshields, slashed tires, and hit one man with a crowbar. Police received 500 reports of damage.
Cars Torched, Police Station Paint-Bombed, Windows Smashed as First #OWS #MDGS Violence Reported At #OSF http://t.co/p1MkkIPO via @kr3at
— Alexander Higgins (@kr3at) May 1, 2012
#Blackbloc paint-bombed my local farmer sourced coffee shop http://t.co/0JLUgJtN Way to stick it to corporate America assholes! #oo #osf
— Jonathan McIntosh (@radicalbytes) May 1, 2012
https://twitter.com/#!/WeROccupyUnited/status/197190176517263360
They broke this kids car wind & threw a flare in the back seat. Way to turn the locals against #Occupy. #osf #ows #m1Gs pic.twitter.com/HBfUiVEo
— Superman formal emus (@M_Qtips) May 1, 2012
http://twitter.com/#!/pixplz/status/197181773661224960
oh lovely. i just found out that several cars vandalized tonight were SF Gay Men's Chorus members' cars. 5 months outreach gone! #osf #oo
— Scott Anansi Rossi (@scottanansi) May 1, 2012
Luckily, the Occupy San Francisco protesters remain steadfastly committed to non-violence:
Thank goodness #OWS has maintained the commitment to NON-VIOLENCE; otherwise, @SFPD might've SHOT somebody & tried to pin the crime on #OSF.
— Pete_TheKiller ︻╦╤─ (@Pete_TheKiller) May 1, 2012
Non-violence like this, “Pete_TheKiller”?
"What really fucked me up was, I saw someone throw something through a living room window. And a mom, a family was in there." #osf #m1gs #oo
— Superman formal emus (@M_Qtips) May 1, 2012
An eyewitness describes the scene:
@OccupyDisabled Nope! Some vandalism okay! Fuck a bank. But tonight was horrifying to the point of trauma.
— ☭ ישי בן-אברהם ☭ (@SFTovarishch) May 1, 2012
@roamingradical FUCK YOU. THEY HURT CHILDREN!!!!!
— ☭ ישי בן-אברהם ☭ (@SFTovarishch) May 1, 2012
@roamingradical You werent there. You didn't see the fucking KIDS screaming as a rock flew thru their living room window. Shut the fuck up
— ☭ ישי בן-אברהם ☭ (@SFTovarishch) May 1, 2012
Any1 who thinks tonight was okay… Ask me about the 6 y/o who kept asking why someone wanted to hurt mommy….
— ☭ ישי בן-אברהם ☭ (@SFTovarishch) May 1, 2012
But not everyone thinks it was a big deal.
https://twitter.com/#!/roamingradical/status/197225009746419713
Many Occupiers tried to distance themselves from the mayhem, which appeared to be dominated by protesters wearing Black Bloc masks:
The march got co-opted by black bloc kids. THIS IS NOT OCCUPY. They've already trashed a cafe and set a kid's car on fire. #osf #oo #ows
— Superman formal emus (@M_Qtips) May 1, 2012
https://twitter.com/#!/roamingradical/status/197220476760752128
But Black Bloc isn’t accepting the blame either:
The people who destroyed property tonight were not #Occupiers or #Blackbloc, expect to see more state sponsored thugs tmrrw. #osf #oo #M1GS
— Anonymous (@YourAnonCentral) May 1, 2012
So if it wasn’t Occupy or Black Bloc, who were the rioters? Must be … agent provocateurs!
Rmbr, if a #blackbloc is buff & encouraging violence good chance they are undercover. Beware of ur surroundings. #m1gs #ows #oo #osf
— jDre (@johnsin) May 1, 2012
this wasn't #blackbloc. these were 'different' people. i didn't recognize any of them. too clean cut. too aggro. #osf #oo #ows #occupy
— Scott Anansi Rossi (@scottanansi) May 1, 2012
Or maybe misguided protesters trashing the wrong kind of property:
I have no objection to property violence in service to a political cause. But the targets must be political. Smash banks, not mom&pops #osf
— schleprock (@schleprock) May 1, 2012
https://twitter.com/#!/JustLexThen/status/197295769273896960
Occupiers claim the police kept their distance:
I still dont get what made the police sit by idly 4 1 hr while their station & neighborhood got vandalized, they love riotgear #osf #oo
— OccupySF (@sf99er) May 1, 2012
the cops allowed a cop car & a police station without so much as lifting a finger to stop it. the same pd that has attacked #osf many times
— Fatty McFatterson (@JustSikko) May 1, 2012
Since when does SFPD allow ppl to destroy public & private property w/o even attempting to make an arrest? #osf #oo pic.twitter.com/shqy66Gc
— OccupySF (@sf99er) May 1, 2012
We’re wondering, Occupiers, any plans for keeping these protests from erupting into the violence we’ve come to expect?
So, everybody is complaining about what happened tonight, & NOBODY has even mentioned preventing it from happening again. So…? #osf #ows #oo
— Superman formal emus (@M_Qtips) May 1, 2012
Nah, no plans for that. That would be unnecessary:
Property Destruction IS NOT Violence. http://t.co/onHrlcJB #Solidarity #Anarchism #MayDay #OSF #OccupyMayDay #m1 #M1GS Via @AnnieElch
— ⒶAnarchoProleⒶ (@anarchoprole) May 1, 2012
