Videos displayed many fires and businesses crashed up late Sunday as not less than 200 people took to the streets close to where the officer had rushed into a crowd the previous night, running over at least one person.
At least two police cars were damaged throughout the rampage as some city buildings had to be evacuated, according to the News Tribune.
A cheering crowd — clothed in all black and at one point seen carrying an Antifascist Action flag — was further caught on video attempting to pull away the gates protecting the Pierce County Jail, chanting, “Free them all.”
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Tacoma police stated they further smashed two people attempting to get onto the roof of an unspecified secure building — stating they were armed with a handgun, double-bladed knives, and batons.
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The pair — a 32-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman — were dressed all in black, tactical riot gear and ski masks, police told the News Tribune. A third suspect with them got away, police explained.
Others in the crowd sang “Black lives matter” and demanded defunding the police, and at least one was seen carrying a rifle, the Seattle Times said. A minivan piled with bottles was on hand to help the protesters, the paper said.
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Local activists were outraged at the destruction that they maintained was sparked by outsiders to the city, which is approximately 30 miles south of Seattle, one of the flashpoints for ongoing anti-police riots.
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Local business owner Alexander Schelhammer, who explained he has been “resisting” police and the city throughout previous peaceful demonstrations, said he faced some of the crowd as they lit trash cans in the street.
“Somebody started lighting it on fire and I asked them ‘Yo, are you from here? Are you from Tacoma?’ He said, ‘No,'” Schelhammer told the News Tribune.
“Lighting a trash can on fire in my city is not OK … No one from Tacoma lit that on fire.
“This protest isn’t being led by people on a megaphone from Tacoma,” Schelhammer said.
Journalist Andy Ngo — who recently wrote a book regarding Antifa — also accused out-of-towners of the destruction.
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“Antifa from nearby Seattle & other areas carpooled into Tacoma for the rampage,” he tweeted.
As Tacoma raged, there were no reported demonstrations Sunday in either Seattle or Portland, Oregon, cities which had seen near-nightly Antifa activity over the previous days.
It was a far cry for both cities from Saturday, when activists clashed with cops outside a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, and police in Seattle said marchers blocked traffic.
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