Sacramento authorities laid blame on antifa for the violence seen during protests last week and vowed to arrest anyone who continues spreading the destruction.
“The Sacramento District Attorney’s Office was targeted last night by a domestic terrorist and anarchist organization — Sacramento Antifa. This attack was planned,” Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert wrote in a statement on Friday.
“These anarchists have waged attacks across this country, in major urban cities, including Portland, Seattle and Denver. Their tactics are rooted in organized violence and terror,” Schubert added.
Rioters vandalized the city on Thursday night in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, with the district attorney’s office among the buildings that were vandalized. The night of protests first began with advocacy group JUICE taking to the streets, but soon turned violent when a second group of protesters dressed in riot gear appeared.
Crews cleaning up graffiti at the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office this morning. pic.twitter.com/Yh4riE57dj
— Heather Janssen (@Heather_Janssen) August 28, 2020
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department issued harsh words for the rioters, saying antifa is to blame.
“Last night we saw another night where hundreds participated in, encouraged or celebrated mayhem in our city. Including breaking windows out of storefronts, and in government buildings, trying to set buildings on fire, extensive vandalism, and graffiti, often while yelling profane and racist rants,” Sheriff Scott Jones said Friday.
“Importantly, many who came from other national protests, such as Portland, to try and establish here in Sacramento what they have accomplished in other protests in other cities,” he added. “It is disappointing. There seems to be a lack of courage to call it what it is. It is not a protest. It is an attempted insurrection. This is not a protest or demonstration. It is not a call for justice. And it transcends either political party. These people are anarchists, antifa and others, that have no platform, no end goal, and no core beliefs other than to create chaos and undermine many of our social institutions, including police.”
Jones has called for the National Guard to assist the city in controlling the violence, but Democratic Mayor Darrell Steinberg said the city can handle the unrest.
”I’m confident that we can handle our own business here,” Steinberg said. “Just as with all these strategies, you have to ask the only question that matters: Will it reduce the chance for great damage or injury? The National Guard can also be a provocation.”
