Police clashed with an unruly mob of protesters in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday night as demonstrators created carnage, set a fire in the street and one even spat directly in the face of an officer.
The confrontations resulted in the arrests of 60 people after a peaceful protest in Washington Square Park took a violent turn once demonstrators worked their way through the West Village after 7:30 p.m.
Earlier chants of “Count the vote” were replaced with anti-police sentiments, inexplicable outbursts at outdoor diners and the setting of rubbish fires.
First, two people clad in black ignited a Joe Biden campaign sign, leading to a round of applause, before others later taunted patrons at Jeffrey’s Grocery in West Village.
“F–k your dinner,” some chanted as they passed the Waverly Place eatery. Others also chanted, “Burn the precinct to the ground.”
At West 4th Street and Sixth Avenue, protesters set fire to a pile of garbage, which was later put out by police.
About 8 p.m., a clash erupted when the group was met by scores of cops in riot gear at Leroy Street and Seventh Avenue.
It wasn’t immediately clear what led cops to close in, but they were seen forcefully arresting some people and struggling with others during the chaotic encounter.
“Move!” police officers shouted at the group, forcing them off the street, as one protester countered, “What the f–k are you doing?”
“Shame, shame, shame” the group shouted as police collared several people at the intersection.
One woman, later identified as 24-year-old Devina Singh, was arrested after she allegedly spat in an officer’s face after screaming, “F–k you, fascist.” The cop, in turn, shoved Singh into the building and forced her to the ground, provoking the ire of other protesters.
“You don’t attack a woman!” one person yelled at the officer.
Moments later, another tense face-off between cops and protesters at West 8th Street and Fifth Avenue led to more arrests.
A police chief was also slugged by a protester Wednesday night, sources said.
The NYPD said officers recovered a Taser, two knives and M80s while policing the demonstration.
Over in Williamsburg, police arrested four protesters around 10 p.m. after one shattered a storefront window with a lock, police said.
Thomas Beemer, 35, was charged with criminal mischief and the others had their arrests voided.
Earlier Wednesday, NYPD Chief of Department Terrance Monahan warned his department would be on the lookout for agitators trying to exploit otherwise peaceful protests.
“We are going to be on the lookout for anarchists who are trying to hijack these peaceful marches,” Monahan said. “We have also asked the organizers to help us identify these outside people.”
Later Wednesday night, the NYPD acknowledged the arrests in a similarly worded statement.
“We have arrested more than 20 individuals who attempted to hijack a peaceful protest by lighting fires, throwing garbage and eggs in Manhattan,” the department said.
The NYPD added: “We appreciate and value the importance of freedom of speech. Our top priority is and always will be safety.”
Asked about the protests on Thursday morning, Mayor de Blasio denounced the “violence.”
“Anyone who does violence clearly will experience the consequences of it,” he said at his daily press briefing. “You’re not supposed to set fires, that’s really dangerous. We won’t tolerate that, we won’t tolerate attacks on anybody.”
Additional reporting by Joe Marino