Weekend fracas in Downtown Pittsburgh viewed by some as isolated; others wary

The actions of protesters Saturday on Penn Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh were “an isolated incident,” Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership President Jeremy Waldrup said Wednesday.

“We welcome protests, and we understand the needs for folks to get out during these times and demand change,” he said, while adding the public conflicts Saturday were “not indicative of what’s happened in the city this summer.”

Videos circulating on social media showed demonstrations in the 900 block of Penn Avenue, which is lined with restaurants and near the convention center. The clips showed confrontations between some protesters and cyclists, and between protesters and restaurant patrons eating outdoors. The footage drew condemnation from Mayor Bill Peduto, Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich and police Chief Scott Schubert, as well as the attention of President Trump.

Vice President Mike Pence addressed the incidents during a stop Wednesday in Beaver County.

“Frankly, the people of Pittsburgh ought to be able to sit at an outdoor restaurant or go to McDonald’s without being harassed,” Pence said. “Folks, it’s gotta stop. We’re going to have law and order in every city in this country for every American of every race and creed and color, so help us God.”

In a summer filled with regular Black Lives Matter protests after the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Saturday’s incident was one of the few that featured conflicts with passersby. On May 30, Downtown protests turned violent in the city. In reaction, many Downtown property owners boarded up windows and took other preventive measures. Peduto has worked with police in an attempt to keep the protests, and the police response to the protesters, peaceful.

Still, some people have apprehensions about visiting the city.

“I’m concerned about what they’re going to do,” said Thomas Albert, a retiree from McKees Rocks who was in Market Square at lunchtime Wednesday. “When they’re down here, I don’t come down.”

As August Henry’s Burger Bar prepared to reopen Wednesday after being closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, manager Sarah Mathias said she was concerned. She hoped people could get along.

The bar is on the stretch of Penn Avenue where the Saturday disturbance happened. Mathias said she wanted her customers to be able to come down and enjoy their meals.

“I can understand the outrage of the protesters,” Mathias said. “I just think it should be done in a respectful way. People are just trying to have a lunch and mind their business. I feel it draws away from the actual reason for the protest or the better good they’re trying to work toward.”

It’s affected business at Nicky’s Thai Kitchen because it blocks access to the restaurant, said Kayla Conroy, a server at Nicky’s, located at the corner of Penn Avenue and Ninth Street.

“There’s also concerns about people stealing food and drinks, saying ‘f-u’ to everyone,” Conroy said. “That’s kind of scary.”

Protesters have said the videos only showed one side of the confrontations. They said cyclists instigated the scuffles, and some outdoor diners shouted obscenities and racial taunts.

Staff writer Natasha Lindstrom contributed to this report.