Sacramento DA: Planned Attack on Office Was Led by Antifa
Added by Debra Tash on September 3, 2020.
Saved under Geographies, News, Newsworthy, State
Tags: Antifa, Planned attack, Sacramento DA, The Epoch Times, ZACHARY STIEBER
BY ZACHARY STIEBER
Intelligence indicates that the recent attack on the Sacramento District Attorney's Office was planned and led by the Antifa extremist group.
"There is no question that there was a planned attack on our office, and now that we have more intelligence, we understand that much of it was led by Antifa," Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, an independent, said during an appearance on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" late Wednesday.
"There was that particular night, there were two separate organizations. The first one was a peaceful protest, which we all support, but the second we now know was organized and planned by Antifa, which is an organization that their whole endgame is the destruction of democracy, and they're going to do that by violence and intimidation and coercion."
Rioters broke into Schubert's office on Aug. 27 and set a fire in the lobby. They also damaged many other buildings in California's capital.
A man dressed in the style favored by Antifa—all-black, with his face obscured—told a local reporter on camera that she was putting people in danger by reporting on the events downtown. "I'm going to break your [expletive] camera in a minute if you don't back off," the man said.
That man is among others captured on camera that the district attorney's office is seeking more information on.
Antifa is a far-left, anarcho-communist group linked to riots across the nation since May.
Facebook posts from Antifa's Sacramento chapter urging people to gather on Aug. 27, 2020. (Sacramento District Attorney's Office)
"I've talked to every police chief in every city where there has been major violence and they all have identified Antifa as the ramrod for the violence," Attorney General William Barr said this week.
Many of the people who fomented unrest in Sacramento were from outside the city, Schubert said. Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones told reporters last week that many "came from other national protests such as Portland to try to establish here in Sacramento what they have accomplished in other protests in other cities," including Portland, Seattle, and New York City.
"It is disappointing, there seems to be a lack of courage to call it what it is. It is not a protest. It is an attempted insurrection. This is not a protest or demonstration. It is not a call for justice. And it transcends either political party. These people are anarchists, Antifa and others, that have no platform, no end goal and no core beliefs other than to create chaos and undermine many of our social institutions, including police," Jones said.
"They're well organized, well funded, and have an endless supply of tools of destruction."
The Department of Justice is probing the people funding the rioters, a top law enforcement official revealed Monday.
Two people have been arrested in connection with the rioting in Sacramento last week, a police spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email. One was arrested for allegedly shining a laser in a police officer's eyes while another was arrested for resisting officers who were trying to take the other suspect into custody.
Sacramento's district attorney said that the way to respond to what happened is to catch those responsible.
"The night that these folks tried to destroy our building and set it on fire, we had the police department out collecting evidence. Anybody that understands our abilities, we're going to do everything we can. If you left your DNA behind, we're going to find it and figure out who you are," she said.
"We're not going to be terrorized. They tried to post where they think I live on their own social media. This theme of intimidating by showing up at people's homes has to end, and we're going to do that by identifying them, and prosecuting them, and making sure that they understand that we're not going to tolerate it."
People described as Antifa militants smash windows and set a fire to the Sacramento District Attorney's Office on Aug. 27, 2020. (Sacramento District Attorney's Office)
Follow Zachary on Twitter: @zackstieber
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