Over 100 people arrested in apparently organized outbreak of looting and unrest

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Amid ongoing violence and looting in Chicago, over 100 people were arrested Monday after 13 police officers were injured during a night of unrest, the Washington Examiner reports. In a statement, Police Superintendent David Brown said the unrest “was not an organized protest” but “an incident of pure criminality” that reportedly began after officers shot and wounded a 20-year-old man who had opened fire on them.

The unrest began shortly after midnight Monday along the downtown Magnificent Mile. According to Brown, police monitoring social media discovered a post of a caravan of cars “being prompted to go to our downtown and loot.”

Local press subsequently reported that vehicles were bringing people into the downtown area and dropping them off to loot. People were seen going in and out of shops, carrying stolen goods. Clothes hangers from stolen garments lay strewn about, together with empty boxes that had contained TVs and other electronic items. ATM machines were destroyed and cash drawers emptied. “This was obviously very orchestrated,” Rev. Michael Pfleger from the city’s South Side, told WBBM-TV.


“This was straight up, felony criminal conduct,” said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “This was an assault on our city.” Many of the businesses that were broken into and looted had recently opened back up after the first wave of riots that followed the death of George Floyd, the Washington Examiner said.

In a statement, Lightfoot said a neighborhood protection program had been activated and would remain in place “for foreseeable days until we know our neighborhoods are safe.” Those arrested are likely to face a range of charges including assaulting police, looting, and disorderly conduct, the Washington Examiner said.

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