Laquan McDonald/BlackLivesMatter Protesters Destroy Chicago Christmas Tree, Threaten Black Friday Shutdown

Chicago was subjected to a second night of protests after the release of police dashcam video depicting the 2014 shooting of an African American teen, with protesters fanning out beyond the planned protests and even destroying Christmas tree decorations while yelling “black lives matter” and “F*ck your Christmas tree!”

Protesters are also threatening to shut down Black Friday shopping downtown.

Late on Wednesday evening, the second night of wide-ranging protests, a group of African Americans attacked Christmas tree decorations in Chicago’s Millennium Park pulling strings of lights off trees and screaming slogans until police came causing protesters to flee in all directions.

Some arrests were made, but the Chicago Police have not released details.

Fortunately, despite threats from supporters of Laquan McDonald and #BlackLivesMatter protesters, Chicago’s Thanksgiving Day parade went off as planned and had little interference.

But protests continued, many led by old, white members of Chicago’s Communist and Socialist Parties, blocking traffic and dampening foot traffic to local stores.

In fact, some protesters have announced plans to disrupt Black Friday shopping in Chicago’s downtown shopping district.

Despite the threats of disruption, though, Chicago business owners and associations are urging visitors not to be deterred and to stick with plans to do their shopping in the city.

“Our job as the business association is to work with the retailers restaurant and our partners to make sure every single day is a safe experience on the mile and that’s what we expect,” John Curran, vice president of the Magnificent Mile Association, told Chicago’s NBC News affiliate. “We keep in close contact with police and other city services and we relay that information to our members and we’ve been in very close contact with our members as we always are for Black Friday.”

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com