NEW YORK - Fires blazing through the night — giving way to broken glass by dawn.
What started as peaceful protests, denouncing the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis, ends with fringe groups shattering windows and grabbing goods from boutiques and shops across lower Manhattan.
“You have to realize what’s going on here, when darkness falls and people taking advantage of a bad situation,” said Police Commissioner Dermot Shea.
According to the NYPD about one out of seven people arrested since protests began is from out of state.
Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller said they are from as far away as Texas, Iowa and Minnesota.
Police say there is an indication highly organized anarchist groups, from out of state, are planning ahead of protests to incite violence.
Police officials say the groups use encrypted apps to communicate and have organized scouts, as well supplies like rocks, bottles and bricks allowing small groups to breakaway and cause mayhem.
Mayor Bill de Blasio did not say what groups or politics they are affiliated with — just that their intent is to cause destruction.
“There are some others whether they’re from other neighborhoods or from outside the city have a different agenda, and it is definitely a violent agenda. It is not what community people are calling for,” De Blasio said.
Freelance journalist Eric Thomas has been covering the protests. He says its clear some who attend are not there to make a point, they are there to cause mayhem.
He captured a video on Canal Street Sunday night showing agitators being pushed out by demonstrators. He says they were throwing things at police and smashing windows before the crowd forced them out.
“You started to see the peaceful protesters clash with these people,” said Thomas.
About an hour and half later on Broadway, Thomas captured another scene, a protester helping to clear the way for a police officer to put out a garbage fire. Thomas says it’s not hard to pinpoint the people who are causing trouble.
“They’re not showing up with like cotton masks they’re not showing up with some sort of a bandana on their face. They’re showing up with really serious sort of respirators. And sometimes they show up with bricks and stuff you just wonder who’s really trying to incite this violence,” said Thomas.