Toronto in chaos!

People have taken to the streets in Toronto in a G20 protest that had spiraled into violence late this afternoon. Police were reported to have used tear gas to try to control the mobs at College and University about 4:30 p.m., EST. Canada Free Press (CFP) reporter John Thompson on the scene says it’s a scene of chaos with open looting on Yonge Street.

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The chant of “Who’s Streets?” “Our Streets” can be heard as anarchists leave behind a wake of broken windows, and a plume of smoke hovers above the city’s financial district at Bay and King streets where two police cruisers are on fire. The protesters are interspersed with city residents and tourists, some of whom are running for cover in apparent terror. At the time that this is being written, police seem to have have contained the protest to Queen’s Park. Twitters coming in to the media, including CFP, are overwhelmingly against the protesters and the carnage. Although the corporate headquarters of the banks have had windows smashed with hammers, many windows broken are those of Mom and Pop type stores. The numbers of protesters were down from predictions and union leaders of the 4,000 who gathered to protest the G20 summit at Queen’s Park had promised it would be peaceful. But things took as one local newscaster called a “tragic twist” when a smaller group dressed in black balaclavas like the infamous anarchist group Black Bloc, broke away and went into mob madness. There were hundreds of officers in riot gear--helmets, gas masks and body armour with police using their batons pounding their equipment, sounding their advance to the swarms of protesters. One of the most heartbreaking sights was the marbles and golf balls rolled at the horses of the mounted police, a scene reminiscent of June 15, 2000, when a dozen horses were seriously injured. “This is what democracy looks like. This is what hypocrisy looks like,” the protesters are shouting. “No borders” is one of their most popular signs. Every hospital, including the world famous Sick Kids, is in lockdown, as are the Eaton Center, the largest hotels and police headquarters. At this hour public transit as been suspended in the downtown core, and the beautiful city of Toronto has been left to look like a war zone.

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