Throngs of vociferous — yet nonviolent — crowds gathered at City Hall this afternoon to denounce the killing of George Floyd and ongoing police brutality, later expanding in numbers before individual groups weaved down Market Street and through parts of the Embarcadero.
On the second day of protests in San Francisco, groups of demonstrators descended on City Hall around 3 p.m. Sunday before taking to lower Market Street and, at one point, marching along Geary Street, a source tells SFist. As the Chronicle noted, the tension was high near Market and Beale streets, where protesters were met with police lines; then-live aerial footage from ABC7 also showed groups near the Embarcadero Plaza, as well as around Salesforce Tower.
Protests continue in San Francisco ahead of the 8:00 p.m. curfew tonight https://t.co/HjS9eUBDTs
— KTVU (@KTVU) June 1, 2020
Some members of the SFPD were again seen wearing the banned "thin blue line" masks and pins that are understood to symbolize oppression against progressive black and brown community movements. Twitter, too, revealed SFPD officers reacting to the swelling masses in subjectively aggressive manners.
seems like they’re pretty eager to escalate it tbh 🗑 pic.twitter.com/9w4XadY1yu
— chris arvin 💕 🌁 (@chrisarvinsf) June 1, 2020
By 5:30 p.m, KPIX reported a large contingent had gathered at Union Square and were met with police officers guarding the business in the area, many of which were previously looted by non-protesters late Saturday evening. Another source on the scene tells SFist they didn't observe any acts of looting nor vandalism from the demonstrating cohort — “they were just yelling and holding up signs that called for justice and equality.”
What the hell, .@sfmta_muni ?
— Kate Taggart (@qkate) June 1, 2020
This is such a betrayal. Transit is for the public good, not facism. https://t.co/KERcfXqSpf
Per the Chronicle, Mayor Breed today also had some choice words for the predominately white crowd that gathered outside her apartment and lit fireworks around 11 p.m. Saturday.
“You can disagree with my policies, you can not like me, you can protest me at City Hall all day every day," she says. "But don’t come for me like that. Don’t come to my house. Because at the end of the day, what’s more, disrespectful is the fact that we have people who are not black chanting ‘Black Lives Matter’ and don’t mean it.”
Sizable groups — which still look to collectively number in the several hundred, if not over a thousand — have again joined at City Hall less-than an hour before the City's mandated curfew begins.
The story is still developing, and we'll keep you updated with any significant news throughout the evening.
***Update*** 06/01/2020, 8:01 a.m.
Cip and I are home safe. I am still in tears. It was a peaceful protest and we got attacked by tear gas and rubber...
Posted by Okan Sengun on Sunday, May 31, 2020
Over 80 people were arrested and/or cited last night over breaking curfew, as the demonstration went well past 1o:30 p.m.; rubber bullets and tear gas were allegedly used on the peaceful crowds.
***Update*** 05/31/2020, 9:28 p.m.
⚠️ ADVISORY ⚠️
— San Francisco Police (@SFPD) June 1, 2020
We have declared an unlawful assembly at City Hall in Civic Center - Curfew is in effect as of 8 PM.
All persons at City Hall should leave the area immediately. Residents should stay inside and businesses should close.
#SF #SFPD #SanFrancisco pic.twitter.com/9crKV2eXtS
SFPD has now declared the protest at City Hall unlawful as curfew sets in; BART is reporting station closures across the Bay Area; Market and 3rd streets are blocked off to "pinch" protesters; in unrelated news, there was a tiger reportedly on the loose near the Oakland Zoo — as if this weekend couldn't get any wilder — but it turned out to be a false report.
Related: Bay Area Police Observed Using Excessive Force, Rubber Bullets Against Nonviolent Protesters
Photo: Twitter, courtesy of Kate Siegal
