As protests and riots have swept across the United States sparked by the death of George Floyd — the 46-year-old African-American man who died after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for over eight minutes during an arrest — other Western countries have seen similar demonstrations break out.
In one chaotic moment caught on video Sunday, London police found themselves swarmed by a group of Black Lives Matter protesters, some of whom began to hurl objects at the officers. In response, the police turned and ran away en masse from the protesters. After the eruption of violence, one of the men involved openly admitted to taking part in the violence against authorities.
A few videos of the incident were posted online, including by Sky News Senior News Editor Tyrone Francis, who posted video of the eruption of violence at a protest and made a point of highlighting that the police were forced to “seek refuge” in the nearby Foreign Office.
“Police seek refuge inside the Foreign Office after clashing with protesters following the arrest of a man,” wrote Francis, adding the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter and a solidarity emoji.
In a follow-up post, again expressing solidarity with protesters, Francis tweets: “A protester hurls a bike and another uses a broomstick to hit at police outside the Foreign Office.”
A protester hurls a bike and another uses a broomstick to hit at police outside the Foreign Office #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/XMk8GOLWIK
— Tyrone Francis (@TJFrancisLive) June 7, 2020
Sky News Correspondent Noel Phillips posted another video taken from inside the dramatic clash:
Protesters clashing with police as they try arresting a man #blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/qyHtjAHstv
— Noel Phillips (@Noel_Phillips) June 7, 2020
Phillips followed that post with a series of tweets with Black Lives Matter hashtagged photographs and videos documenting what took place, including one photo showing an officer injured in the violence. One video shows two protesters arrested during the conflict, both of whom appear to be white. Another video shows police reinforcements arriving.
Phillips also posted a brief interview with one of the protesters who proudly explained that he was at the center of the clash and blamed the police for the incident.
“They had detained and were trying to arrest a young black man, and I thought he wasn’t doing anything, he was just standing around,” the man said. “So I thought I can’t let this happen, I’m going to go stop an unjust. So I ran in to try to stop what was going on. Three cops come, they grab me, they rip my shirt. So I start scuffling with them and then a bunch of people start running in, and projectiles are thrown. And we chased the police down there…”
Police officer has been injured. pic.twitter.com/lNWEfW0dFP
— Noel Phillips (@Noel_Phillips) June 7, 2020
Two protesters arrested as police battle with protesters outside foreign office pic.twitter.com/nt85ZMIxYR
— Noel Phillips (@Noel_Phillips) June 7, 2020
Reinforcement arrives as injured officer walks away from scene #blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/xJICEsVlXf
— Noel Phillips (@Noel_Phillips) June 7, 2020
This protester was involved in clashes with police. He told me what happened #blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/xxZRkGwAVp
— Noel Phillips (@Noel_Phillips) June 7, 2020
After posting the violent videos, which have been given graphic content warnings by Twitter, both Sky News employees made a point of celebrating what they said were mostly peaceful protests in the city.
“280 characters is simply not enough to put into words the passion for change on the streets of central London,” tweeted the Sky News senior editor. “These peaceful protesters were robbed of their meaningful moment.”
“I feel for the thousands of protesters who marched shoulder to shoulder amid a deadly pandemic. Their demand: an end to racism and inequality. But, while a small number of people hijacked the movement for their own ends, here’s why many took to the streets,” wrote the Sky News correspondent, linking to an article he wrote.
280 characters is simply not enough to put into words the passion for change on the streets of central London. These peaceful protesters were robbed of their meaningful moment. #BlackLivesMatter #ukblm pic.twitter.com/p5cSoO7Umb
— Tyrone Francis (@TJFrancisLive) June 8, 2020
I feel for the thousands of protesters who marched shoulder to shoulder amid a deadly pandemic. Their demand: an end to racism and inequality. But, while a small number of people hijacked the movement for their own ends, here’s why many took to the streets https://t.co/rN2kGe8cAR pic.twitter.com/LLYYaQNsLj
— Noel Phillips (@Noel_Phillips) June 8, 2020
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.