Peaceful Protest Ends in Violence
By Maria Walker
Published October 8th, 2022
Police fire tear gas to disperse the crowd. 227 rioters were arrested.
Oct. 6th, Manhattan Island - In what some are comparing to the violent suppression of the "March of Those Who Disagree" protests several years ago, L3 Corporate Security smashed what started out as a peaceful demonstration and rapidly turned violent as protesters began chucking rocks, bricks and glass bottles at riot control officers.
Some have called this act a blatant violation of free speech and rights, however L3 has maintained that the situation was escalated by the protesters, not by police and was therefore an act of self-defense rather than aggression.
With over 1,700 supporters present, the protest was one of the largest this week. The group calls themselves "The Alliance of Freedom" and claim that L3's policies towards personal and civil freedoms are 'draconian' and 'oppressive', citing numerous 'human rights' violations. Security forces quickly established barricades along the marchers' route, attempting to contain the protest and ease traffic flow.
Police being assaulted
After about 30-minutes, several of the more violent members of the protest started shouting obscenities and calling officers out, apparently trying to provoke them into attacking.
Officers reported that they only began dispersal whenever several protesters began picking items up off the ground, including bricks and glass bottles and throwing them at the officers.
Officers detain a suspect.
The demonstration devolved into a riot as police attempted to arrest one of the protesters and were quickly attacked. Water hoses, tear gas, shockmaces and shotguns loaded with 'beanbag shells' were quickly used against the mob, to great effectiveness. Riot control officers quickly subdued the most violent rioters, arresting over two-hundred people.
Within 15-minutes, the mob was dispersed. So far no deaths have been reported, only minor injuries sustained by several officers.
L3's CEO, Douglas Meyers, made an official statement earlier today addressing the protest.
"These demonstrators clearly overstepped their authority today. What started as a peaceful demonstration should have ended that way, however it did not, only because of the actions of few. Hopefully, in the future, this will serve as a lesson to those who wish to use violence to solve political problems, it does not nor will it ever work," Mr. Meyers said in a press release later that day. "I do not advocate the use of violence for any means besides self-defense. Clearly, these protesters were not acting in such a way and I am glad to hear that there were no casualties caused in this incident."
