Anarchists spark riots, vandalism at Grand Central - shutting down trains and causing mayhem

Anarchists spark riots, vandalism at Grand Central - shutting down trains and causing mayhem

Anarchists spark riots, vandalism at Grand Central – shutting down trains and causing mayhem

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MANHATTAN, NY- New York is out of control. Thanks to new criminal justice reforms, criminals are no longer afraid to get arrested because they know they’ll be out on the streets before police finish their reports. And empowered by anti-police politicians, they are starting to make things very interesting.

CBS New York reports multiple arrests at Grand Central Station after anarchists gathered there on Friday night. Media outlets are identifying them as protesters but trust us, they are anything but protesting.

After they left Grand Central, they headed out 42nd Street and marched toward nearby Bryant Park, then headed down into the subway during a time when there is heavy commuter traffic.

The mass chaos was started by a group that had posted online calling for mass sabotage and chaos at MTA facilities in the city.

The demonstration was led by an anti-police group that apparently thinks subway systems run for free and thus they have the right to not pay for the privilege of using it. They also want police officers banned from patrolling the trains.

The protest began in part after the MTA held a vote to hire an additional 500 police officers to patrol MTA facilities, trains and buses. This was in response to a spike in crime that has plagued the MTA.

According to the NYPD, incidents of harassment, groping and assaults on the subway often, and are on the rise. While serious felonies are down, misdemeanor assaults are up. In fact last month, a repeat subway menace, 23-year-old Isaiah Thompson was arrested for pushing an innocent bystander headfirst into a subway car in Brooklyn.

The NYPD had set up barricades outside Grand Central, while inside there was a large police presence, including K-9’s, detectives and dozens of uniformed officers trying to ensure that the riot (let’s call it what it is) wouldn’t get out of hand.

NYPD officers swarmed throughout the terminal, guarding turnstiles and making arrests.

Video of the protest showed hundreds of masked (of course) protesters forming a human wall, then marching forward to shut down the terminal, as tens of thousands of New Yorkers were heading home for the weekend.

Three brave masked members of the anarchist group were seen in a Twitter video encouraging people to skip fares, damage turnstiles and engage in mass sabotage of MTA property. A woman named Brandy (go figure) said she held a turnstile open for a half-hour on Friday, helping people evade the fares.

Brandy says:

“We pay for the metro with our taxes. Why are we being charged then hounded if we don’t pay to use it? And of course, it’s disproportionately brown and black people being hounded and arrested.”

We rather doubt that Brandy pays taxes since she could afford to stand and hold a turnstile open for a half hour, then participate in inconveniencing thousands of people trying to get out of the city using the MTA.

As far as the people getting “hounded and arrested”, it is likely that they were arrested because they were committing crimes. The color of their skin likely had little to do with it.  

One woman from Connecticut was concerned about the police officers.

“I saw all the police officers and I get concerned,” said Tina Mihocko. “Both of my sons are police officers in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and I’m definitely concerned for all them. I’m concerned for people on both sides.”

“Most of the people getting arrested are houseless (is that even a word?) people and people who are jumping the fare cause they can’t afford it,” said another woman. “These issues are affecting actual lives and I think it deserves more compassion and understanding why police presence can be really dangerous for a lot of people.”

The only people that police presence can be dangerous for are criminals who do not obey the law. We are pretty sure that the rank and file person utilizing the MTA is happy to see police on the trains and in the stations.

The group, who by all appearances are at least affiliated with Antifa, were seen squirting paint on the OMNY readers, hanging banners inside the Oculus station and pouring quick-setting glue inside turnstiles at 72nd Street and Central Park west. They also painted anti-police graffiti on the wall.

One Midtown resident didn’t have much of a problem with gluing the machines shut, however drew the line at striking out at police.

“No violence towards officers. That’s pushing the line. Gluing the machines shut, maybe,” said Midtown resident Chris Miseo.

As of this writing, no NYPD officers had yet been reported injured.

In anticipation of the civil unrest, the NYPD had increased patrols at all subway stations across the five boroughs.

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Anarchists spark riots, vandalism at Grand Central - shutting down trains and causing mayhem

Chief Terence Monahan of the NYPD made it clear that the department was taking a zero tolerance policy toward the anarchists.

“This morning a group of individuals vandalized subway stations. We believe the same individuals will attempt to disrupt the evening commute in the subway by causing disorder, endangering commuter—and even attempting to physically assault our officers. IT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.”

He said in an accompanying video message:

“While the NYPD will always protect people’s right to protest, we will not accept illegal behavior that threatens the safety of others. Those who break the law will be arrested.”

Some people however support the efforts of the police.

“The police are here to help us. You can’t have criminals roaming around with weapons, so we actually need people like police to prevent worse things from happening,” said a resident of the Lower East Side, Irwin Meza.

Lest anyone think this temper tantrum is isolated to New York, today’s anti-police demonstration is part of a worldwide protest with similar incidents taking place in Montreal and other cities.

https://twitter.com/HipsterBeatings/status/1223373429069492227

Stay tuned folks. With anti-police rhetoric emanating from Democrat presidential candidates like Sanders, Warren, Buttigieg and Biden to brain-dead Congressmen like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley, these nuts are going to become even more empowered. We shudder to think what will happen when Donald Trump gets reelected.

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About The Author

Pat Droney is a retired police officer, having worked in the field in for over 31 years, up to and including the rank of Chief of Police. After retirement, Pat worked as Director of Campus Safety for a private school, as well as Loss Prevention Supervisor in the retail sector. He currently is a supervisor for a large passenger airline. Pat is a proud Reagan conservative patriot, loves his Irish heritage, but especially loves his country and is an unabashed supporter of our military.

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