2010 Santa Cruz riots
Encyclopedia
The 2010 Santa Cruz riots occurred in Santa Cruz, California, on May 1, 2010. They were sparked when participants threw jugs of paint at police cars and painted anarchist
Anarchy
Anarchy , has more than one colloquial definition. In the United States, the term "anarchy" typically is meant to refer to a society which lacks publicly recognized government or violently enforced political authority...

 symbols and anti-capitalist phrases onto buildings. Property damages are estimated to top roughly $100,000.

Background

Prior to the riot, a May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....

 rally
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...

 was being held for worker and immigrant rights. According to police, the rally was infiltrated by a local anarchists group, who used the rally as a cover for attacking corporate premises.

The riots

The riots started when the protesters started vandalizing nearby buildings, by 10:30 pm, approximately, a dozen buildings were already vandalized. It then intensified when a group of about ten people began breaking storefront windows at approximately 11:05 pm. Police reported that some people in the group were carrying torch
Torch
A torch is a fire source, usually a rod-shaped piece of wood with a rag soaked in pitch and/or some other flammable material wrapped around one end. Torches were often supported in sconces by brackets high up on walls, to throw light over corridors in stone structures such as castles or crypts...

es. Several police officers were stationed downtown, but retreated after protesters threw stones at their vehicles. After calling in backup resources from around the county, law enforcement reached the riots at 11:23 pm, over 45 minutes after it began, this was due to a large amount of phony
Prank call
A prank call is a form of practical joke committed over the telephone. Prank phone calls began to gain an America-wide following over a period of many years, as they gradually became a staple of the obscure and amusing cassette tapes traded amongst musicians, sound engineers, and media traders...

 911 calls, which diverted the police force all around the county.

Property damages

Dell Williams Jewelers was inflicted within $10,000 to $20,000 worth of damage. Police reported damage done to Jamba Juice
Jamba Juice
Jamba Juice is a chain of smoothie restaurants, headquartered in Emeryville, California, with over 700 locations operating in 30 states, the Bahamas, Canada, Korea, and the Philippines. Over 500 locations are company-owned, with the remainder being franchised...

, Urban Outfitters
Urban Outfitters
Urban Outfitters, Inc. is a publicly traded American company that owns and operates five retail brands: Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, and BHLDN....

, The Rittenhouse, Velvet Underground, and Cafe Pergolesi. One officer was present when the riots began, but backed away once the protestors began pelting his car with rocks, bottles, and cans of paint.

Aftermath

24-year-old Jimi Haynes was arrested and charged with felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...

 vandalism for participating in the acts of destruction.
Although no UCSC
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...

student arrests have been made, one student claimed that the city is associating UCSC students with the acts of destruction.
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