Anarchist thugs attack Obama California campaign office
Protesters smashed a large window at President Obama's re-election campaign office in downtown Oakland late Friday night, tore down a nearby fence and vandalized cars, according to police, witnesses and video footage.
Staffers and volunteers were inside the Organizing for America office at 1714 Telegraph Ave. when it was vandalized after 9 p.m., but no one was hurt, said a staffer who declined to be identified. The office is a joint effort of the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
When the window was broken, well over 100 people had joined what began as a rally against the city's handling of growing crowds at the first-Friday-of-the-month event called Art Murmur, a gallery crawl centered in the Uptown arts district from 6 to 9 p.m.
Protesters - who included Occupy Oakland activists - said the city was cracking down on vendors and performers who came into the neighborhood during the gallery crawl without permits. Until June, the galleries had closed down a block of 23rd Street, but the approach got too expensive and hectic.
...
City Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente said the frequency of vandalism at downtown protests was "unacceptable" and hurt restaurants and other businesses.
"It's continuing to be bad publicity for us and the merchants trying to revitalize downtown," he said. "Art Murmur is something that is getting bigger and becoming a destination for people. Obviously, this is something that is not good for the city."
The vandalism happened a little more than a day after someone damaged two Oakland police cars near City Hall and attempted to break a window at a police station early Thursday.Well, at least they did not blame the Tea Party.
A group calling itself the East Bay Uncontrollables said it was responsible for the attack and called it a reaction to a federal investigation into anarchist activity.
...
I do have a question for City Councilman De La Fuente. What frequency of vandalism do you find acceptable? My on vies is that any level above zero should be unacceptable, especially if I were a victim of one of these anarchist tantrums.
Comments
Post a Comment