A series of peaceful protests organized in both New York and Oakland, Ca. have an aim of calling police brutality into attention via the #BlackBrunch hashtag. Although they have been supported by some diners, a former NYPD officer issued a violent threat towards the protesters via Twitter.
The protesters entered what they deemed “white spaces” – or popular brunch and dining establishments in the respective cities over the weekend. When the protesters enter the space, they read the names of Black persons slain by police while people dined. In New York, popular brunch spots Lallisse, Maialino and Pershing Square were part of the group’s stops along the way as reported by Yahoo. In some cases, diners have shown support for the protesters by standing with them.
Naturally, there are countering responses on social media which varied between attempts at humor to mild suggestions of annoyance. But things went all the way when former NYPD officer John Cardillo took a photo aiming a gun towards the camera and cautioning protesters to “move along” while using the “#BlackBrunchNYC” hashtag.
Cardillo’s tweet, which is still active, was met with several angry responses among showings of support. At one point, Cardillo defended his actions by tweeting, “Storming restaurants is criminal trespass, as is harassing those within. Self defense is a right.”
Cardillo is a contributor to political firebrand Glenn Beck’s The Blaze network.
Hit the following pages to see some of the tweets surrounding #BlackBrunch.
[h/t Raw Story]
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Photo: Twitter
