19 G20 Summit Protesters Arrested
Canisters of smoke and pepper spray, as well as riot pellets, were fired by police at protesters marching at the G20 Summit Thursday in Pittsburgh. The action came after anarchists started rolling trash bins, breaking windows, and throwing rocks when they were told to disperse.
There were 17-19 marchers arrested, and the mayor, Luke Ravenstahl, says that the quick decisions by authorities resulted in only slight damage to property. There were injuries reported, according to officials.
The marchers went crazy about the time President Obama and the first lady arrived for the meeting with leaders from around the world, representing more than 85% of the world’s economies. The clash started just after hundreds of protesters tried to march toward the convention center where the summit was held.
The streets were clogged by the protesters as they chanted and banged on drums. There were small groups of anarchists involved, some wearing bandanas and dark clothes and carrying black flags, while others wore safety goggles and helmets. After only a few minutes into marching, they revealed a large banner saying “No bailout, no capitalism”.
Because they didn’t have a permit, police declared the march an unlawful assembly after they made it a few blocks. An announcement was played over a loudspeaker, telling them to leave. Then authorities in riot gear went in to break them up. They also used a device used for crowd-control that puts out a deafening siren so that the protesters would be uncomfortable and disperse.
However, they only split up into smaller groups, rolling large metal trash cans toward police and breaking the windshield of a police car by throwing rocks at it. Ten windows of a few nearby businesses were broken in the chaos as well, according to police.