National Guard deployed as city braces for protests
Philadelphia police leave after looking for looters at a Rite Aid at C Street and Allegheny Avenue in Philadelphia, on Monday, June 1, 2020. The looters scattered as they pulled up. After the police left, looters returned.
PHILADELPHIA » National Guard vehicles bordered City Hall and other government buildings in Philadelphia’s downtown on Monday as an overnight curfew lifted following ongoing protests over George Floyd’s death that led to more than 400 weekend arrests.
Philadelphia officials closed most services and business in the center city after a second day of peaceful racial protests over Floyd’s death in Minnesota last week turned into another night of destruction in cities nationwide and led President Donald Trump to single out the city on a call with governors.
An overnight curfew will be in effect for a third night, starting at 6 p.m. Monday.
Fire crews battled blazes into the early morning, some that threatened whole blocks either through the spread of flames or
collapses and disrupted subway service. Crews responded to nearly 250 fire calls, a fire spokesperson tweeted.
The Ben Franklin Bridge and other roads into Philadelphia reopened, and public transportation had restarted with some disruptions from damage. But transit officials shut down
all downtown bus, trolley and subway stops at noon Monday in anticipation of more protests planned throughout the afternoon.
Closures also included city coronavirus testing sites downtown, though officials said sites in other areas of the city are open.
Curfews, barricades and police presence pushed many of the protests into neighborhoods away from downtown late Sunday — but not until more store windows were broken along
business corridors around City Hall and dozens of arrests were made.
About 50 National Guard members arrived early Monday and about 50 more were expected soon, U.S. Attorney William McSwain said.
McSwain’s office is investigating whether any crimes committed during the unrest would fall under his federal jurisdiction, he and U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican, said at a news conference.
He believes that some
people from outside Philadelphia incited riots, he said, but also that a lot of city residents participated in “opportunistic looting,” he said.
“We are looking into who are the real agitators,” he said.
In Lancaster, Pennsylvania, city officials said they identified about 15 people in a crowd of protesters over the weekend who were wearing tactical gear and carrying weapons. Police officials said at a news conference
Monday that they had evidence that white nationalists had infiltrated the rally, which had a few incidents of bottles of cayenne pepper and other projectiles thrown at police.
Protests of smaller sizes were held in cities across Pennsylvania including Chambersburg, Reading, Bethlehem, Erie and Pittsburgh over the weekend. Several incidents of rioting, vandalism or violence occurred during a handful of those gatherings, but those
were eclipsed by the damage and arrests related to the rallies in Philadelphia.
Trump mentioned Philadelphia — where destruction has been on par with that in some other major cities — on a call with governors Monday.
“Philadelphia is a mess. Philadelphia, what happened there is horrible. And that was on television. They’re breaking into stores and nobody showed up to even stop them,” Trump said.