Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens warned demonstrators in St. Louis, Missouri, that looting and violence would not be tolerated as violent protesters continue to wreak havoc in the city.
“We had leaders who wanted to give people a safe space to loot and to burn,” Greitens told Fox News. “Now in Missouri if you loot the only safe space you’re going to have is in a jail cell.”
“If you’re going to riot we’re going to cuff you,” he continued. “Violence and vandalism is not protest. It is a crime.”
Violent protesters stormed St. Louis following a judge’s decision Friday to acquit former police officer Jason Stockley, a white male, of murder charges in connection the 2011 shooting death of Anthony Lamar Smith, a black male.
Protesters squared off against cops dressed in riot gear while looters and vandals destroyed storefronts. Police have made more than 80 arrests as of Monday, and several officers had suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
The demonstrators have also confronted reporters, such as the group of Black Lives Matter protesters who confronted a KTVI reporter covering the protests on Friday.