Mayor: ‘Last night the world saw the true spirit of Rochester’

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — Mayor Lovely Warren responded to a tweet by President Donald Trump about the protests in Rochester.

On Monday morning, the president tweeted "Rochester, New York, Brooklyn, New York, Portland — all had bad nights, all weakly run by radical left democrat governors and mayors! Get the picture?"

Rochester N.Y., Brooklyn N.Y., Portland – All had bad nights, all weakly run by Radical Left Democrat Governors and Mayors! Get the picture?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 7, 2020

Shortly after, the mayor released a statement on last night’s protest. In it, Warren said commended the protest saying “the world saw the true spirit of Rochester.”

“Over 1000 people came together in solidarity to remember the life of Daniel Prude and call for the change that is needed to overcome structural and institutional racism,” Warren said. “I am grateful to Pastor Myra Brown, our community elders, and the leaders of the local Black Lives Matter movement for helping ensure calm while making their message heard.”

During the fifth night of protests, in contrast to some previous nights, there were few reports of any bottles or other projectiles being thrown by anyone, and police did not use any measures such as tear-gas or pepper balls, according to Rochester Police.

The mayor has asked the community to ignore the president’s comments.

"It is clear is his only desire is to bait people to act with hate and incite violence that he believes will benefit him politically,” Warren said. “We will not give him what he wants. We will continue to act with grace and do the work necessary to improve Rochester and our entire community."

For full coverage on the death of Daniel Prude, click here.