Protesters marching in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin set fire Wednesday night inside the Alameda County Superior Courthouse.
It appears a glass door was broken before the fire was set at the building along Fallon St. in Oakland.
Oakland Police said violent protesters threw rocks and bottles at officers, set off fireworks and set small fires in the streets while chanting. The group also broke several windows along Broadway and near Lake Merritt, reportedly attempting to set fire to businesses at 8th and Broadway. Police said officers and the Oakland Fire Department were able to prevent "further damage."
We've also learned demonstrators briefly made it on to I-580, disrupting traffic before leaving the freeway using the Grand Ave. off-ramp.
According to the East Bay chapter of Democratic Socialists of America's Twitter account, about 200 people had gathered at Oakland's Frank H. Ogawa Plaza earlier Wednesday "to demand justice for #JacobBlake and the protestors that white vigilantes murdered in Kenosha last night."
It's not known if any arrests were made.
A group of demonstrators marching in support of racial justice and police reform set a fire in the Alameda County Superior Courthouse last month.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday afternoon that he is sending in "federal law enforcement" to Kenosha, Wisconsin, after two people were fatally shot and another wounded during a third night of protests over the police shooting earlier this week of the 29-year-old Blake. A white, 17-year-old police admirer was later arrested.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers authorized the deployment of 500 National Guard members to the city of 100,000 midway between Milwaukee and Chicago. Evers' office said he's working with other states to bring in additional National Guard members and law officers.
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