Two Arrests in Jersey City Heights, Hours After Downtown Protests

A number of videos posted to social media show an incident in which a crowd of protesters met with Jersey City Police on Central Avenue Tuesday night. The incident took place hours after what has been characterized as a peaceful protest in Downtown Jersey City.

 

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Thousands of peaceful protesters rallied outside City Hall today in response to the public killing of handcuffed George Floyd while he was in custody of Minneapolis Police. Officers of the #JCPD joined the marchers in solidarity & took a knee. The crowd marched to the Newark Ave Pedestrian Plaza for a moment of silence before dispersing. ⠀ ⠀ #JerseyCity #GeorgeFloyd #AhmaudArbery #BreonnaTaylor #BlackLivesMatter

A post shared by JerseyCityNJ (@jerseycitynj) on Jun 2, 2020 at 4:06pm PDT

According to a statement shared by Jersey City authorities, Joslyn Acevedo, 21, of Union City was arrested around 9:37 Tuesday night for Terroristic Threats, Disorderly Conduct, and Resisting Arrest. Video of the incident has been posted on @jcwonders_.

 

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A post shared by JC Wonders (@jcwonders_) on Jun 3, 2020 at 11:51am PDT

Another angle:

 

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A post shared by JC Wonders (@jcwonders_) on Jun 3, 2020 at 10:48am PDT

Meanwhile, in a second incident at 10:50 p.m. near the corner of Hague and Central Ave, Christopher Bale, 35, of Jersey City was arrested after police observed he was in possession of a weapon. JCPD officers disarmed Bale, and he was taken into custody for Poss. Weap. Unlaw. Purp./Other Weapons, Possession of Weapon – Other, and Aggravated Assault on Police Officer.

By and large, Jersey City protests have been peaceful to date—in stark contrast to other cities nationwide.

“The city’s top priority is to maintain safety for our residents, the peaceful protesters, and our first responders, which we’ve worked to achieve by working closely with local protest organizers,” said Jersey City Spokesperson Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione. “The only protest-related arrests that have been made this past week stemmed from this one group that separated from a peaceful out-of-town protest and entered Jersey City with obvious nonpeaceful intentions.”

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