Residents clash before police arrive in Philadelphia neighborhood

Tensions were high Monday in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood, where there was a reported standoff between demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd and bat-wielding vigilantes.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the men holding bats, hammers, shovels and other objects said they were there to protect local businesses from looting. 

The men wielding weapons were on one side of the street while unarmed protesters were on the other, with police vehicles in the middle, according to an account by KYW. The two groups shouted at each other as police and SWAT teams ordered them to disperse. 

Earlier in the day, police helicopters dispersed tear gas canisters into the crowd as part of the effort to clear people off the expressway.

“Why were others teargassed for peacefully protesting but they could walk around with bats and be protected?” one woman asked the Inquirer. 

dozens of cops just arrived in fishtown where two crowds have been in a stand off for a couple hours after a group of men walked up and down Girard Ave carrying bats and hammers pic.twitter.com/2GkPX05xE5

— Anna Orso (@anna_orso) June 2, 2020

Jon Ehrens, a WHYY radio producer, was hurt while reporting the encounter. 

Ehrens said he was beaten up by one of the armed men after taking video of the group. He later posted an update saying he was OK and on the way to the hospital.  

I got called out for recording them and they beat the shit out of me and pushed my girlfriend pic.twitter.com/JMeR4SJ7y9

— Jon Ehrens (@jwehrens) June 2, 2020

Before he was hurt, Ehrens said he overheard one of the men saying “I’m ready to f— shit up. You know, I’ve been looking for a fight for the past 6 months.”

The protest marked another day of unrest in Philadelphia as demonstrators in several U.S. cities protest the death of Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed black man who died in Minneapolis police custody last week.

Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis officer who was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck, has since been fired and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers were fired but have not been charged.

President Trump has reacted with fury to violent protests across the nation, calling on governors and local leaders to deploy the National Guard to quell looting and destruction of property.