US

1,000 Activists Shut Down California Highway To Protest Shootings

REUTERS/Craig Lassig

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Amber Randall Civil Rights Reporter
Font Size:

Protesters shut down California’s highway in Oakland Thursday night after setting off fireworks to protest the recent cop shootings of two black men.

About 1,000 protesters marched down Oakland’s I-880 highway in protest of cop shootings of the two black men from Minnesota and Louisiana, reports CBS Local. The protests blocked both lanes of traffic around 8:30 p.m.and lit fireworks.

The protest started with approximately 2,000 people who split off into two groups, reports The Mercury News. Half of the group  blocked the highways, while the other 1,000 stayed to protest in the city.

“The whole damn system is guilty as hell,” the crowd shouted in the city. Minister Ben McBride organized the rally, and led part of the crowd to the Oakland Police Department headquarters, where he read a list of demands in front of the police station. He accused the department of various crimes, including murder.

McBride painted the doors of the police headquarters with red paint to symbolize “the blood that’s been spilled.”

“F— the police” and “All cops sucks” was graffitied in the city, the NBC local reported, while windows at businesses like Foot Locker and Chase Bank were smashed. Police described the crowds mostly peaceful, according to Abc 7.

Asians For Black Lives joined the protests with some members of the group carrying signs reading, “Third Worlds for Black Power.” Asians For Black Lives supports Black Lives Matter because it believes that Asians ” have often been used as part of a “divide-and-conquer” strategy to uphold white supremacy.”

“We’re here together. Some of us have been here for a long time. Until black liberation is won, we’re not going away,” Devika Ghai said.

Both highway lanes re-opened around 1:15 a.m.

Follow Amber on Twitter

Send tips to amber@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.