Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday blamed a new breed of highly organized anarchist hell-bent on violence for violent protests that have rocked the city.
“We’re seeing something new, and not just here in New York City, but all over the country,” Hizzoner said of the violence.
The “x-factor,” he said, were groups who were “not just protesters but people who came to do violence in a systematic, organized fashion.”
He called the “small” number of people “well-organized” and linked to “the anarchist movement,” rather than really mourning George Floyd’s death.
“They plan together online, they have very explicit rules,” he said, noting officers having teeth knocked out, projectiles thrown at them and department vehicles torched.
“Some come from outside of the cities, some are from inside the city. Some are from the neighborhoods where the protests take place, some are not. But what we do know is there is an explicit agenda of violence and it does not conform with the history of this city.”
Cops mostly showed “tremendous restraint overall” under “very, very difficult circumstances,” the mayor said, blaming the protesters for starting any troubling clashes.
“Thank God, there was no loss of life, there were no major injuries,” he said, saying the officers should never have been put under such pressure.
De Blasio could not immediately provide information on where the outside agitators are coming from.