Black Lives Matter protesters caught on video smashing up a restaurant and ordering diners to leave as unrest continues in Rochester for fourth night
- Videos of demonstrations in Rochester, New York show protesters smashing up three restaurants and ordering diners to leave.
- In one video, protesters can be seen overturning chairs and tables as diners look on.
- The owners of the three restaurants issued a statement on social media, saying they "understood the anger and hurt our community is feeling right now."
- The incident was part of four nights of protests in the city, as thousands of people took to the streets to denounce the police killing of Daniel Prude earlier this year.
Videos of Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Rochester, New York show protesters smashing up three restaurants and ordering diners who were eating outside to leave.
Shouting "Black Lives Matter," some protesters can be seen clearing tables and motioning for diners to get up and leave.
In another video, protesters are overturning chairs and tables and shattering glasses as diners look on.
Footage posted on Twitter by freelance journalist Geoffery Rogers shows protesters approaching diners who were eating outside at three different restaurants, on Friday night.
Watch the clips below:
Some of the protesters are heard decrying the behavior and telling people to stop damaging the property.
One demonstrator told the Rochester newspaper Democrat & Chronicle that he disagreed with the actions, noting that one of the affected restaurants had posted an Instagram earlier in the day about providing water and a place for people to regroup.
"I don't agree with seeing white families sitting out and eating and people running up on them and giving them a hard time," Narada Riley said, according to the Democrat & Chronicle. "That's not going to help the situation at all. But I can't control the crowd."
The three affected restaurant owners have since issued a joint statement on social media, supporting the protesters and saying that they understood "the anger and hurt our community is feeling right now."
"Despite what videos might depict, we lost some glassware last night. You can not deny the anger and hurt our community is feeling right now," the statement said, according to the Democrat & Chronicle.
"As always, the actions of a few agitators are amplified louder and louder as videos are shared and conclusions are drawn. We, now and always, stand with those standing against injustice. Stay safe. Listen. Love. Ever better," it added.
The protests in Rochester, which started on Wednesday night, have continued into Saturday night as thousands of protesters marched through the streets.
They come after the story broke of Daniel Prude, a Black man who died in March after Rochester police restrained and put him a "spit hood."
Images from the protest on Saturday night show protesters wearing bike helmets and shielding themselves with umbrellas as they walk towards police barricades.
Police blocked off streets and also deployed pepper balls and tear gas after crowds ignored their calls to disperse and started throwing bottles at officers, officials said.
They have declared the demonstration to be an unlawful assembly but no arrests were made on Saturday.
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