Royal ruckus! Eric Garner protesters set for Barclays brouhaha

Security expected to be tight when William and Kate take in Nets/Cavaliers game

December 8, 2014 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Eric Garner protestors were set to head to Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Monday. Photo by Mary Frost

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Protesters planned to kick off another week of demonstrations in the death of Eric Garner, starting with Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Monday night.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge — Prince William and Kate – were set to attend a basketball game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Barclays on Monday, and security was expected to be tight.

A source told the Brooklyn Eagle on Monday that police were gearing up to deal with a large crowd.

Planners wrote on their Facebook page, “Foreign dignitaries are going to be at Barclay’s Center … so let’s shut it (and the mall and Atlantic and Flatbush) down.”

According to the Daily News, Cavaliers’ LeBron James was searching for a T-shirt displaying the message, “I can’t breathe” to wear in front of the Royal Couple to express solidarity with the movement seeking to highlight black deaths at the hands of police.

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UPDATE: See what happened when protesters held a die-in at Barclays, while the royal couple was inside

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“I can’t breathe” were the last words Garner repeated before his death following an alleged choke hold by a Staten Island police officer.

This will the second week of civil disturbance in New York City and in other cities since a grand jury failed to indict the officer.

Hundreds of protesters gathered on Sunday at Grand Central station and other locations across the city, including Macy’s in Herald Square and Forever 21. Crowds also gathered in Union Square and in several stores in Times Square, including the Disney Store, with the aim of disrupting holiday shopping.

At Grand Central, protesters held a mass die-in, and a moment of silence. A red banner spelled out, “Black lives matter.”

Protesters also held die-ins on the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge tunnels and highways.

A rally was also held at the Louis H. Pink Houses in Brooklyn on Sunday to protest another fatal encounter with police — the shooting of an innocent man, Akai Gurley, in a pitch-dark stairwell there by rookie police officer Peter Liang on Nov. 20. Liang said his gun went off accidentally.

Gurley’s funeral was held Friday. Brooklyn DA Kenneth Thompson said he would convene a grand jury, pledging “a full and fair investigation.”

As Christmas shopping begins in earnest, organizers are calling this week’s disruptions a “holiday intervention.” A “Millions March NYC” is planned for Saturday, starting at Washington Square Park. On Monday afternoon, more than 30,000 Facebook members had responded to an invitation to join.