Viral videos of clash at Downtown protest spark police probe
Pittsburgh police are investigating after videos of a Saturday protest in Downtown Pittsburgh showed protesters yelling at restaurant patrons and breaking a glass.
The videos, which have been viewed millions of times on Facebook and Twitter, show anti- racism protesters shouting profanities at diners at Sienna Mercato on Penn Avenue.
In the footage, some people who are eating outside begin to leave their tables. One protester, Nique Craft, approaches a table and drinks a diner’s beverage.
A pair of patrons look on as the beer is consumed, and Craft, who identifies as nonbinary, sets the beer back on the table.
Another protester approaches and swipes a glass off a table, causing it to shatter.
A separate video shows a protester yelling through a megaphone at a man holding a bicycle. The bicyclist smacks the megaphone, and another protester hits the bicyclist in the head with a skateboard. It is not clear from the video what started the confrontation.
Craft said the videos show only one side of the story and that three men from outside the protest were screaming “Blue lives matter” at the protesters. When protesters began to confront them, Craft added, one man began swinging a bike at people.
According to Craft’s account, a man began grabbing Craft’s hair and placed his hand on Craft’s chest, saying he was trying to stop Craft from engaging with another man.
When the confrontation ended, Craft said, a man in the restaurant began condemning the protesters’ actions. The woman who was with him offered Craft to come over, have a beer and talk about the situation.
“So, being a theatrical, snarky type of person that I am, I said that I don’t have time to wait for you to order another beer; I will take the one you have,” Craft said.
Craft did not recognize the man who swung the skateboard.
“Even though people [ at the restaurant] saw that whole thing, they still saw me as an aggressor,” Craft said, adding that viewers of viral videos tend to speculate about what they would have done in the situation without knowing all the facts.
Videos of the incident were first shared on Facebook by a user named Grace Harvey and then reposted on a Twitter page that frequently posts anti- protest content.
Ms. Harvey could not be reached for comment. On her Facebook page, she wrote, “We witnessed demonstrators bullying, harassing and physically assaulting random people simply walking past them or quietly enjoying a meal.”
She continued, “People were shaken & scared as they ran away from their tables around us.”
“Police are reviewing video and are encouraging anyone who was impacted or assaulted during Saturday’s demonstrations to contact them and file a report,” police spokesperson Cara Cruz wrote in an email.
“An investigation will be conducted to identify the suspects and hold them accountable by filing appropriate criminal charges.”
Lorenzo Rulli, who can be seen in the video wearing a thin purple garment and standing in the dining area, also said the videos show only one side of the story. He said the protesters were harassed by several agitators.
Neither Mr. Rulli nor Craft were organizers of the protest. In the video, Mr. Rulli is yelling obscenities at diners.
“[ Expletive] 12,” he says in the video, 12 being a reference to police. “And [ expletive] the white people that built the system set against mine.” He then shows someone his middle finger.
“We don’t target businesses,” Mr. Rulli told the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette. “Our restaurant industry in the city supports us very much. We were talking to people that were talking to us. The beer that was consumed was an offer. The glass that fell was a mistake.”
He said that even though the video doesn’t show it, people in the restaurant were cheering on the protesters.
Mr. Rulli also said police should have stepped in when agitators became aggressive toward protesters rather than soliciting incident reports after the fact.
“The reason I engaged the individual man and his wife is because ... her husband called me ‘ an embarrassment’ and ‘ disgusting,’” Mr. Rulli said.
Republican Sen. Pat Toomey responded to the videos on Twitter, writing, “Intimidating people to get your demands met isn’t peaceful protesting. Damaging or destroying reeling businesses hurts workers and isn’t peaceful protesting.
“These are crimes. Until elected officials support the prosecution of these criminals, they’ll continue.”
Asked whether he thought the videos would portray the protesters in a bad light, Mr. Rulli said, “Honestly, the protesters could never be in a good light in this city until the people who have the power to convey the message properly are doing so.”
He also said Mayor Bill Peduto was hurting the movement’s image. When a Twitter user asked the mayor why people were protesting him, Mr. Peduto, a Democrat, responded, “Politics 101. Have the Alt- Left attack Democrats & the AltRight support their efforts.”
When protesters eventually ended up at Mr. Peduto’s home Saturday, where they shone flashlights and made noise before leaving at about 10 p. m., the mayor tweeted, “The 1st Amendment doesn’t protect you to close down streets, without a permit.
“Yes, we have granted extra rights to assure free speech. But, continual denial of law, will end up in arrests. Actions have consequences.”
Timothy McNulty, the mayor’s spokesman, said the mayor’s office had no comment.
Mr. Rulli and Craft were arrested earlier this summer related to other protests and are already facing what both activists say are false charges.
Protests against police brutality and systemic racism have been ongoing in Pittsburgh since May, when George Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.