A Black Lives Matter leader warned of “riots”, “fire”, and “bloodshed” if NYC Mayor-elect Eric Adams returns the city to tougher policing.
Hawk Newsome, co-founder of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, met with Adams, a former police captain, Wednesday at Brooklyn’s Borough Hall.
The New York Daily News reported that the meeting became tense and people began shouting.
One of the major issues discussed was the possible revamping of the city’s anti-crime unit, which was disbanded during police protests last year. They also talked about plans to fight poverty in the black community.
Newsome compared the anti-crime unit to Nazi Gestapo and said “If he thinks that they’re going to go back to the old ways of policing, then we are going to take to the streets again. There will be riots, there will be fire and there will be bloodshed because we believe in defending our people”.
He also explained that the group hopes for peace but prepares “for the worst”.
Chivona Newsome, Hawk’s sister, claimed “We will shut down City Hall, and we will give him hell and make it a nightmare”.
Newsome told the New York Post “To ignore that history and say you’re bringing it back means that he’s tone deaf”. He explained “I am not threatening anyone. I am just saying that it’s a natural response to aggressive oppression, people will react”.
In response to Newsome’s message, Adams told Fox 5 “hey know who I am, I ran on a very clear message: my city will not be unsafe”.
Paul DiGiacomo, president of the Detectives Endowment Association, said “We need to support Mayor-Elect Adams’ plan to restore public safety and get guns off our streets. NYPD will do the job. Loud threatening rhetoric will not”.