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A video posted to Twitter showed what its user described as protesters throwing an American flag from outside Trump Tower into a river in Chicago, Illinois. “F*ck Donald Trump,” a person says on the video as protesters bring the flag down. “Yank that b*tch. Yank that b*tch. Get that mother f*cker,” the person says.
“Burn it! Burn it!” other people shout as the flag is carried to the river. “Throw it in the river,” someone says. People applaud.
Twitter user Yeezus Banks shared one of the videos on social media and wrote on May 30: “Flag in front of trump tower was cut down and thrown in the river #chicagoprotest.” Here’s the video posted by that user:
That user also wrote, “Black people were STOLEN, brought here & forced to BUILD THIS COUNTRY. they deserve safety in a country they built. This America does not work in their best interest so they GET TO BE ANGRY. And you should be too. don’t @ me about a f*cking flag. IT CAN BE REPLACED. People cannot…FYI- #chicagoprotest was completely peaceful all afternoon.. some spray paint here and there, broke window or two, but no violence.”
Heavy contacted Chicago police for comment on the flag incident. Comment will be added into this article if it is received.
“i think burning a trump flag in front of the trump tower would be a power move #chicagoprotest,” wrote another person on Twitter.
However, another person wrote, “So out of everything they could do cutting down the flag and throwing it in a river is the best thing we got, trump tower or not that’s embarrassing.”
In another scene from Chicago, people kicked and jumped on a Chicago Police Department squad car parked outside Trump Tower.
Protesters kick and jump on top of CPD squad car in front of Trump Tower t.co/QGp3xJ6K6h
Here’s what you need to know:
The Flag Incident in Chicago Came as Unrest Spread Throughout the United States
#chicagoprotest The flag was cut down & tossed into the river in front of Trump Tower
Another person wrote, “Trump Tower on #Chicago is beyond assinine rt now. Seeing reports a bridge getn ready to be raised. Protestors throwing flag in river. This has NOTHING to do w/#GeorgeFloydMurder.” That post included the hashtags #QAnon #MAGA.
GettyWorkers install the final letter for a giant TRUMP sign on the outside of the Trump Tower on June 12, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois.
Others had a different view. “@ the guy that ripped down the flag from trump tower and threw it in the river, you’re doing amazing sweetie.”
Wrote another person, “At the #ChicagoProtest. Protesters just took down the flag outside of Trump tower and threw it into the river. #BlackLivesMatter.”
The Chicago incident was part of a series of protests and riots that escalated throughout the United States in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A viral video showed a police officer, Derek Chauvin, with his knee on Floyd’s neck. Floyd died, Chauvin and three other officers were fired and Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter charges. Businesses were torched and looted in Minneapolis, and the protests and riots then spread throughout the country in many major cities, with some peaceful and some not.
More than 100 people were arrested in Chicago in connection with George Floyd unrest on May 29, according to WGN-TV. Protesters were blocking traffic on May 30.
“Lake Shore Drive has been shut down. Avoid coming to the downtown area. CPD officers continue to work to secure the downtown streets,” Chicago Police wrote in a statement on Twitter on May 30.
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