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An anti-Trump protest has been arrested and charged in New York City after spitting in a police officer's face as demonstrators gathered in cities across the country with the outcome of the presidential election still uncertain.
Devina Singh, 24, was among the 57 people arrested in New York City on Wednesday night after she was filmed in Manhattan's West Village neighborhood screaming 'f ** k you fascist' at an NYPD officer before spitting in his face.
Footage of her spitting at the officer, which went viral on Twitter, was immediately condemned by the NYPD and police unions.
Anti-Trump protester is arrested in NYC for spitting in cop's face and screaming 'f*** you fascist'
— USA GAG (@USAGAG2) November 5, 2020
Source: DailyMail pic.twitter.com/3VUfzowa32
'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. '
After spitting at the officer, Singh was thrown to the ground and arrested.
Singh, who police say is from Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, was charged with obstruction of governmental administration and harassment.
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.
A total of 57 people were arrested.
Actions like this will not be tolerated. Agitators who commit these acts will be arrested. https://t.co/oxew6gYNCI
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) November 5, 2020
The arrests happened after hundreds of marchers demanding the counting of every presidential election vote converged on Manhattan's Washington Square Park, where a smaller group rallied against police misconduct.
Some of the people arrested were throwing eggs at officers and one person was breaking a store window, police said. The department said officers recovered a knife and a stun gun, spray paint and M80 firecrackers.
The police department tweeted photos of several trash fires. Bystander video showed officers in helmets and tactical gear swarming protesters.
'We support everyone's right to self-expression, but setting fires puts others at risk and will not be tolerated,' an NYPD's tweet said.
There were also standoffs between police and protests near Union Square.
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 organized 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'.
These weapons, confiscated at protests tonight, put others at risk. Bringing weapons to peaceful protests cannot and will not be tolerated. We are currently working to de-escalate the situation. Anyone caught with a weapon will be arrested. pic.twitter.com/GiCDv74ncT
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) November 5, 2020
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.
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
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.
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.'
