Thread by @jangelooff

At the Count Every Vote demo at Bryant Park, @lsarsour urges: “Let’s stay in the street, regardless of the outcome of this election.”

March arrives in Washington Square Park, where they’re greeted by hundreds of cops and a constellation of police helicopters. Two NYU freshmen said the sound of choppers kept them up all night

Helicopters of all stripes, I should say

https://twitter.com/2AvSagas/status/1324127787037433856

The chess players are cautiously optimistic. “But what the fuck is wrong with Florida?” wonders Surfi.

(Surfi, on the left, was a PHD economist in Bangladesh who is waiting for his working papers to clear, and hustles chess in Washington Sq Park in the meantime.)

A new march has moved off from the park — more BLM than pro-Biden. They’re flanked from either side by 50+ bike cops in riot gear, who just stormed 6th Ave and arrested someone (unclear why)

NYPD attempts to kettle the group, which is heavy on black bloc. Probably a dozen arrests — one woman hit by a bike pretty hard. Rest of group is moving thru village.

“I walking with them. They literally threw them to the fucking ground while they were walking on the sidewalk,” says Megan, a witness. “They didn’t do anything.”

Another hard arrest, cause unclear. New Chief of Patrol Juanita Holmes is here, I’m told. Helluva start

Big group of protesters are kettled on 5th Ave, then arrested for standing in the street. Crowd is chanting “let us disperse,” but officers keeping coming. Conservatives 250 cops here for a group probably half that size

Here’s the start. A few people got caught in it. Cops let this group out, but bystanders said others were trapped

I was shoved and threatened with arrest for stepping off the sidewalk to take a photo. “If anyone comes in the street again, they’re going to jail,” says an officer.

Pop Smoke intermission

Another skirmish near Union Square, again with hundreds of cops and reported arrests.

“We are here peacefully and the police are inciting violence,” said Bohan Ma, an NYU freshman in a Biden-Harris shirt.

Cops order people out of the street, then arrest them on the sidewalk anyway. No provocation to speak of.

Bill witnessed the above scene, and was then pushed to the sidewalk with the rest of us. Appreciate him coming out tonight — looking forward to what @NYCMayor will have to say about this tomorrow.

https://twitter.com/gwynnefitz/status/1324187114783866881