After deliberating for more than 16 hours, a jury found George Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter late Saturday evening.
The verdict is the culmination of a case that captured the nation’s attention and the outcome had authorities bracing for the possibility of tensions boiling over into wide-scale demonstrations and rioting.
And while the scene outside the courthouse in Sanford, Fla., was quiet and orderly after the verdict was announced, some 3000 miles away, in Oakland, Calif., the story was very different.
About 125 protesters, upset at the acquittal of Zimmerman, took to the streets of Oakland on Saturday evening starting several fires, smashing windows and trashing police vehicles. One police car can be seen with the words “Kill Pigs” spray painted on it.
The remnants of Occupy Oakland look to be behind the mayhem, which comes as no surprise.
At the height of the Occupy Wall Street movement, the city degenerated into chaos with widespread rioting and burning. Actions that were spurred on by the conciliatory reaction of Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, according to some.
While the protestors claim to be reacting in support of Trayvon Martin, history tells us that these folks just like to destroy things. Some scenes from Oakland on Saturday night, via Twitchy:
Crowd growing over 100 at #OGP 14th and Broadway #Oakland angry about #ZimmermanTrial love for #Trayvon pic.twitter.com/MMtBwQ6rGX
— Occupy Oakland (@OccupyOakland) July 14, 2013
Here’s a closer look at the flag protesters set on fire in Oakland. WATCH live stream here: http://t.co/4AWpbxbulJ pic.twitter.com/mOv61MIWGk
— ABC7 News (@abc7newsBayArea) July 14, 2013
Downtown Oakland. pic.twitter.com/UxATjCSFHz
— Susie Cagle (@susie_c) July 14, 2013
And there it is. pic.twitter.com/VYXGrPMx6H
— Susie Cagle (@susie_c) July 14, 2013
Riots in downtown Oakland in response to Zimmerman ruling. pic.twitter.com/T6hnQlbGKC
— Shane Bauer (@shane_bauer) July 14, 2013
#BREAKING smashed windows downtown #Oakland as protestors march, angry about #TrayvonMartin verdict @KTVUpic.twitter.com/nckdiMCYPb
— Debora Villalon (@deboraktvu) July 14, 2013
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The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
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