An anti-Trump protester has been arrested and charged in New York after spitting in a police officer’s face as protesters gathered in cities around the country with the outcome of the presidential election still uncertain.
Devina Singh, 24, was filmed yelling ‘f*** you fascist’ at an officer in Manhattan before spitting into his face, despite the risk of infecting him with coronavirus.
She could also be heard shouting ‘… f***ing died for this,’ with the start of the sentence being unintelligible. After spitting at the officer, she was thrown to the ground and arrested.
She was one of more than 50 people arrested during a night of unrest in New York.
Singh, of Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, was charged with obstruction of governmental administration and harassment.
The footage of her spitting at the officer, which went viral on Twitter, was immediately condemned by the NYPD and police unions.
‘Actions like this will not be tolerated. Agitators who commit these acts will be arrested,’ the NYPD tweeted alongside the video.
NYPD detectives union the Detectives’ Endowment Association added: ‘This despicable behavior won’t be tolerated! This after setting fires & destroying property. We know law abiding NYers don’t want their cops treated like this. Now we need every elected official to publicly condemn it.’
The woman, who was later identified as Devina Singh, can be seen yelling profanities in the police officer’s face
‘F**k you, fascist!’ the 24-year-old can be heard shouting at the officer
Devina Singh, pictured, was arrested on Wednesday night after spitting in a police officer’s face
Activists kneel in central Manhattan, where clashes later broke out with officers who were overseeing the protest
Officers said Singh has previous arrests for unlawful assembly and resisting arrest.
Police said the unrest on Wednesday night began with peaceful demonstrations urging officials to ‘count every vote’ in the presidential election, after Trump sued to stop votes being counted in key swing states where he could lose.
The NYPD said that as day turned into night, the protest was ‘hijacked’ by aggressive groups who lit fires before skirmishing with officers, throwing garbage and eggs at them.
More than 24 hours after polls closed, it is still not clear who has won the election. Counting is still underway in a number of battleground states and has been dragged out due to a record number of mail-in ballots.
Joe Biden is on the cusp of claiming victory, but Donald Trump has issued a series of legal challenges trying to stop vote counting in states he is at risk of losing, amid unsubstantiated allegations of fraud.
That has prompted pro-Trump supporters to descend on polling stations in key states such as Michigan and Arizona in an attempt to oversee the counts, while anti-Trump protesters gathered in Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Philadelphia, New York and other Democrat strongholds to demand that every vote be counted.
There has not yet been widespread violence and looting of the kind that was feared before election day, but the longer the uncertainty drags on, the greater the risk becomes. It could still be days before all votes are counted.
Anti-Trump protesters have organised more than 100 events planned across the country between Wednesday and Saturday.
In Michigan, a battleground state, counter-protests unfolded in Detroit after dozens of Trump supporters descended on a ballot-tallying center to urge officials to stop the counting of votes.
Other protests – sometimes about the election, sometimes about racial inequality – took place in at least a half-dozen cities, including Seattle, Houston, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis and San Diego.
Protesters on Wednesday kicked off a day of demonstrations in New York by marching down Manhattan’s iconic thoroughfare while chanting ‘count every vote’ and ‘every vote counts’.
A man is handcuffed and arrested by police in New York during a night of unrest following an uncertain election
Anti-Trump protesters march through Manhattan, demanding that every election vote be counted after the President called for vote-counting to stop in swing states he is at risk of losing
Other groups also convened for rallies in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village where police officers in riot gear were out in force.
‘It’s very important that we make sure that our democracy is maintained,’ said Meira Harris, 26, a social work student. ‘This election has provoked so much anxiety.’
The peaceful protests however took a violent turn by nightfall, after rallying cries in support of democracy devolved into anti-police rhetoric and members of other groups began setting fires on the streets.
In the West Village, officers clashed with activists as they moved on crowds during a rally on Leroy Street and Seventh Avenue.
NEW YORK CITY
Protesters on Wednesday kicked off a day of demonstrations by marching down Manhattan’s iconic thoroughfare while chanting ‘count every vote’ and ‘every vote counts’.
Other groups also convened for rallies in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village where police officers in riot gear were out in force.
The peaceful protests however took a violent turn by nightfall, after rallying cries in support of democracy devolved into anti-police rhetoric and members of other groups began setting fires on the streets.
In the West Village, officers clashed with activists as they moved on crowds during a rally on Leroy Street and Seventh Avenue.
NEW YORK CITY: Police officers arrest a protester as he marched through the East Village during an Election Day demonstration on Wednesday
NEW YORK CITY: Peaceful protests had descended into chaos by nightfall, when police began moving on crowds and carrying out several arrests
NEW YORK CITY: Protesters are arrested during the demonstrations which have been sparked after Donald Trump casted doubt on the legitimacy of the election
NEW YORK CITY: Armed police clashed with the protesters in Manhattan as fears of civil unrest persist as the US waits to discover their new President
NEW YORK CITY: Election protesters and activists rallied on the streets as police officers were out in force
NEW YORK CITY: Calls for a fair vote count later turned into anti-police rhetoric as some protesters began setting fires, police said. Pictured: A demonstrator wears a police uniform while wearing a pig mask
NEW YORK CITY: A protester holds a sign which reads ‘stop killer cops’ as the recent Black Lives Matter protests collided with election fears
NEW YORK CITY: Clashes broke out between protesters and cops, prompting at least four arrests on Wednesday evening
NEW YORK CITY: A police officer tries to control the crowd who had gathered on a day of frustration with the election still hanging in the balance
New York Police officers had kept watch over demonstrators in the West Village before taking action against rowdy crowds
Protesters, police clash in New York City’s Greenwich Village amid demonstrations over presidential election; local media reports multiple arrests pic.twitter.com/ameE4wLL6V
— Factal News (@factal) November 5, 2020
NEW YORK CITY: Footage shared on social media showed cops monitoring rallies in the city before employing crowd-control tactics
Footage shared by a New York Post journalist on social media showed one woman spitting at a cop which resulted in another skirmish between activists and police.
The woman, later identified as Devina Singh, 24, was heard berating the officer, telling him: ‘F**k you, fascist,’ before spraying him with her saliva. The cop in turn shoved her against a building before placing her in handcuffs.
Police later responded to the incident in a statement on Twitter saying: ‘Actions like this will not be tolerated. Agitators who commit these acts will be arrested.’
Footage also showed officers employing heavy-handed crowd control tactics including kettling, by closing in on large groups before carrying out several arrests.
More than 50 people were arrested in Wednesday night’s protests, where authorities also recovered several weapons including knives, a stun gun, and M80 explosives, the NYPD said.
‘We appreciate and value the importance of freedom of speech. Our top priority is and always will be safety. We have arrested more than 20 individuals who attempted to hijack a peaceful protest by lighting fires, throwing garbage and eggs in Manhattan,’ the department said in a statement.
NEW YORK CITY: 4: Police arrest election protesters following a rally in Union Square
NEW YORK CITY: More than 20 people were arrested for ‘hijacking’ peaceful protest as of late Wednesday, according to the NYPD
NEW YORK CITY: NYPD began moving on crowds after generally peaceful rallies turned into chaos after some participants began setting fires on the street
NEW YORK CITY: A pile of garbage was set ablaze by unruly members of the crowd
NEW YORK CITY: Several protesters were arrested in the West Village after demonstrations spiraled out of control
NEW YORK CITY: A man is seeing being taken away by officers in handcuffs late Wednesday
NEW YORK CITY: Crowds of protesters began mobilizing in Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue late Wednesday afternoon as part of several ‘Protect the Results’ demonstrations that kicked off in cities across the country
NEW YORK CITY: Protesters rally and march form the New York Public Library down Fifth Avenue to protect the results of the US Presidential Election and to continue the count of ballots
NEW YORK CITY: Protesters rally and march from the New York Public Library down Fifth Avenue to protect the results of the US Presidential Election and to continue the count of ballots on November 4
More than 50 people were arrested in Wednesday night’s protests, where authorities also recovered several weapons including knives, a stun gun, and M80 explosives
Authorities did not specify whether the fires had been lit by protesters and not all participants involved in Wednesday’s rallies were part of the Protect the Results coalition.
A second group from the ‘Everybody Out’ movement were among those who gathered at Washington Square Park amid the chaos on Wednesday.
According to social media posts, the organization had planned a protest against either administration and vowed to rally every week until inauguration day.
‘No matter what goes down on Election Day, we will gather this Wednesday and every Weds until January 20 until the fall of the regime,’ the group’s event flyer read.
One participant also said cops had been just as rough with some peaceful protesters adding that he was hit in the head with a baton during a confrontation that broke out on Fifth Avenue and Eighth Street.
‘This is the first time the cops have been as aggressive as they were,’ Charles Michie, 23, told the Wall Street Journal. ‘Several times tonight they just started to swarm and started to use violent force.’
PORTLAND/SEATTLE
The post-election mayhem extended to west coast in Seattle and Portland which has already been roiled by five months of near-nightly racial injustice protests since the police killing of George Floyd.
On Wednesday, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office declared a riot around 7pm after protesters were seen smashing windows at businesses during a demonstration against Trump’s court challenges to stop the vote count in battleground states.
‘All of the gatherings that were declared riots were downtown. We have made 10 arrests’, a Portland Police spokesman told Reuters in an emailed statement.
In the interest of public safety, Governor Kate Brown activated the use of the state National Guard to help local law enforcement manage the unrest, according to the sheriff’s office.
PORTLAND: Protests erupted in Portland which has already been roiled by five months of near-nightly racial injustice protests since the police killing of George Floyd. Pictured: A protester lights an American flag on fire during a demonstration Wednesday
PORTLAND: Armed police and the National Guard were deployed to maintain order as unrest has gripped the Oregon city for many months
PORTLAND: A protester wearing a Black Lives Matter face mask is arrested by a number of officers on the latest night of clashes in Portland
PORTLAND: Oregon Governor Kate Brown activated the use of the state National Guard to help local law enforcement (pictured) manage the unrest
PORTLAND: Demonstrators marched down the street as they held signs in support of a full count and BLM
PORTLAND: During the latest night of civil unrest, protesters torched a US flag as they demonstrated against police brutality and Donald Trump
PORTLAND: Soldiers with the National Guard help local police disperse antifascist protesters following the US presidential elections
PORTLAND: Authorities declared a riot on Wednesday after protesters were seen smashing windows at businesses. Pictured: A woman walks over broken glass and past a shattered store window
PORTLAND: Hundreds of people marched in the streets of Portland during a protest one day after election which remains undecided
Brown said previously she would keep state troopers, sheriff’s deputies and police officers under a unified command into Friday in Portland to handle protests amid uncertainty over the winner of the presidential election.
The Oregon National Guard had been on standby. Brown’s order places law enforcement agencies under the joint command of the Oregon State Police and Multnomah County Sheriff’s Department, which allows those agencies to use tear gas if necessary to quell unrest.
Mayor Ted Wheeler, who is also police commissioner, banned the use of tear gas by Portland police earlier this fall after concerns about an overly aggressive response to the unrest.
Demonstrators on Wednesday held signs saying, ‘Count Every Vote,’ and ‘Keeping Hope Alive.’
PORTLAND: A man carries a gun as he walks during a march in support of vote counting in the still-undecided presidential contest
SEATTLE: Protesters from the Party for Socialism and Liberalism hold signs reading ‘stop Trump’s racist voter suppression’ during a demonstration on Wednesday
Protesters rally about the election Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Suzanne Thornton, 79, said she was motivated to attend a protest for the first time because of Trump’s court challenges.
‘Our president seems to be making such a big deal about it and we need to clarify what the vote count is for. He doesn´t seem to get it,’ Thornton said.
‘I don’t have a lot of patience with him because he is such a baby and I don´t see how so many people in this country see him as a leader.’
Protesters in Seattle said they are also trying to make sure the Black Lives Matter movement and other social justice causes remain in the spotlight. Some carried signs saying, ‘Stop Trump’s Racist Voter Suppression,’ ‘Black Lives Matter,’ and ‘Don’t Steal the Election.’
LOS ANGELES
In Los Angeles, the LAPD declared an unlawful assembly during a protest on Wednesday in the area of 5th and Hill Street.
Officers ordered demonstrators to disperse after closing the area off due to a ‘large and unruly crowd.’
Three people were arrested in total, including two for failing to disperse and one for battery of an officer, Fox 11 reported.
Authorities did not specify the nature of the demonstration, however photos show protesters had also gathered for a rally in support of a complete vote count.
LOS ANGELES: A heavy police presence was seen in Downtown LA as votes continue to be counted across the country
LOS ANGELES: Protesters marched downtown, following Tuesday’s inconclusive election
LOS ANGELES: Demonstrators gathered to demand every vote be counted as the election result hangs in the balance
LOS ANGELES: Protesters hold up a banner reading ‘We are ungovernable’ as they marched through the streets of LA on Wednesday
It came hours after the department declared its second tactical alert in two days as they prepared for a wave of ‘Count Every Vote’ marches in the city.
The call requires all officers to go on duty to ‘ensure sufficient resources to address any incidents that may arise as a result of Election Day activities,’ the department said
DETROIT
Earlier on Wednesday, about 100 people gathered for an interfaith event before a planned march through downtown Detroit, in the battleground state of Michigan, to demand a full vote count and what they called a peaceful transition of power.
At the same time, dozens of Trump supporters descended on a ballot-tallying center in the city to demand a halt to vote counting.
It came after the president claimed, without evidence, that mail-in ballots in states such as Michigan had fraudulently favored opponent Joe Biden.
Trump fans appeared at the TCF Center shouting ‘let us in’ and ‘stop the count’.
Local media reported raucous scenes as Republican counters attempted to enter the building, alleging they were being unfairly kept out – a claim denied by local Democrats also kept outside.
DETROIT: Protesters from both sides of the political divide vented their anger and frustration over the undecided presidential contest. Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden neared the magic number of 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House with several battleground states still in play, as incumbent President Donald Trump challenged the vote count
DETROIT: Pro-President Donald Trump and pro-Joe Biden protesters argue outside the TCF Center as ballots continue to be counted in Michigan
DETROIT: Police blocked off traffic at the entrance to the central counting board where ballots in the general election are counted in the city at the TCF Center
Earlier, Trump had declared himself winner and vowed to ask the Supreme Court to weigh in on the inconclusive election.
The Republican campaign also urged officials to stop the count, demanding Michigan’s Democratic secretary of state allow in more inspectors after Biden was projected to be the winner in the state.
The confrontation in Detroit started shortly before The Associated Press declared that former Vice President Joe Biden had won Michigan.
Video shot by local media showed angry people gathered outside the TCF Center and inside the lobby, with police officers lined up to keep them from entering the vote-counting area. They chanted, ‘Stop the count!’ and ‘Stop the vote!’
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, insisted both parties and the public had been given access to the tallying ‘using a robust system of checks and balances to ensure that all ballots are counted fairly and accurately.’
Michigan has been on edge for months over fears of political violence. Anti-government protesters openly carried guns into the state Capitol during protests over coronavirus restrictions in the spring, and six men were arrested last month on charges of plotting to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
MINNEAPOLIS
Hundreds of people were arrested in Minneapolis on Wednesday night after an election protest that started off downtown ended up spilling onto a busy highway.
Protesters descended on Interstate 94 just before 8pm, blocking traffic and prompting police to shut down the freeway in both directions.
MINNEAPOLIS: Protesters marched through interstate 94 during a protest against racism and issues with the presidential election on Wednesday
MINNEAPOLIS: Protesters descended on the highway just before 8pm, blocking traffic and prompting police to shut down the freeway in both directions
MINNEAPOLIS: Almost all 200 demonstrators were detained by Minneapolis Police and State Troopers. Pictured: People hold a ‘Remove Trump Pence Now’ sign during the protest
Almost all of the 200 participants were detained by Minneapolis Police and State Troopers after they were ordered to sit on the ground for two hours as they waited to be processed, the Star Tribune reported.
‘Walking on the freeway is illegal and very dangerous for pedestrians and motorists. We respect the right of everyone to express themselves under the First Amendment, but the freeway is not a place to do that,’ the Minnesota State Patrol said in a statement.
The event had reportedly been planned even before Election Day, according to the Star Tribune.
CHICAGO
In Chicago, protesters demanding a complete count marched through downtown and along a street across the river from Trump Tower.
A crowd of about 100 people marched through the city’s Loop north on Michigan Avenue while toting a banner reading ‘count every vote’.
Demonstrators were met with a heavy police presence however the march remained largely peaceful.
CHICAGO: In Chicago, protesters demanding a complete count marched through downtown and along a street across the river from Trump Tower
CHICAGO: Demonstrator Brittany Bysina holds a sign as demonstrators march through the Loop
PHILADELPHIA
Similar scenes unfolded in Philadelphia, where crowds marched past Independence Hall as they called for a fair count in the still-undecided contest.
Peaceful protests had descended into chaos by nightfall, when police began moving on crowds and carrying out several arrests
Election protesters and activists rallied on the streets as police officers were out in force
The Protect the Results coalition, encompassing dozens of groups from Planned Parenthood to Republicans for the Rule of Law, had said it was organizing a day of mass protests in 500 cities.
But those plans were put on hold late in the day.
Footage also showed officers employing heavy-handed crowd control tactics including kettling, by closing in on large groups before carrying out several arrests.
More than 50 people were arrested in Wednesday night’s protests, where authorities also recovered several weapons including knives, a stun gun, and M80 explosives, the NYPD said.
‘We appreciate and value the importance of freedom of speech. Our top priority is and always will be safety. We have arrested more than 20 individuals who attempted to hijack a peaceful protest by lighting fires, throwing garbage and eggs in Manhattan,’ the department said in a statement.
Clashes broke out between protesters and cops, prompting at least four arrests on Wednesday evening
Authorities did not specify whether the fires had been lit by protesters and not all participants involved in Wednesday’s rallies were part of the Protect the Results coalition.
A second group from the ‘Everybody Out’ movement were among those who gathered at Washington Square Park amid the chaos on Wednesday.
According to social media posts, the organization had planned a protest against either administration and vowed to rally every week until inauguration day.
‘No matter what goes down on Election Day, we will gather this Wednesday and every Weds until January 20 until the fall of the regime,’ the group’s event flyer read.
One participant also said cops had been just as rough with some peaceful protesters adding that he was hit in the head with a baton during a confrontation that broke out on Fifth Avenue and Eighth Street.
‘This is the first time the cops have been as aggressive as they were,’ Charles Michie, 23, told the Wall Street Journal. ‘Several times tonight they just started to swarm and started to use violent force.’
Police and participants in a rally in Washington Square Park demanding a fair count of the votes after the 2020 general elections on Wednesday evening
Demonstrations were also seen in a few other U.S. cities on Wednesday night as activists demanding that vote counts proceed unimpeded rallied in several cities, including Portland, Atlanta, Detroit, and Oakland.
Earlier on Wednesday, about 100 people gathered for an interfaith event before a planned march through downtown Detroit, in the battleground state of Michigan, to demand a full vote count and what they called a peaceful transition of power.
The post-election mayhem extended to west coast in Seattle and Portland which has already been roiled by five months of near-nightly racial injustice protests since the police killing of George Floyd.
On Wednesday, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office declared a riot around 7pm after protesters were seen smashing windows at businesses during a demonstration against Trump’s court challenges to stop the vote count in battleground states.
‘All of the gatherings that were declared riots were downtown. We have made 10 arrests’, a Portland Police spokesman told Reuters in an emailed statement.
In Los Angeles, the LAPD declared an unlawful assembly during a protest on Wednesday in the area of 5th and Hill Street.