Video: Jon Jones confronts vandals during riots
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones may be embroiled in a standoff with UFC president Dana White, but he still made time to take to the streets of Albuquerque, N.M. to confront a couple of would-be vandals. The young men that had spray cans in hand, apparently looking to vandalize property as part of the ongoing riots across the United States.
There have been numerous peaceful protests across the country out of respect for George Floyd, a black man that was killed by a police officer who pinned him to the ground with his knee across Floyd’s neck. The incident lit a fuse that ignited across the country with millions of people gathering to protest police brutality and racism.
The officer has since been arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other officers that accompanied him on scene have been fired, but not yet charged, as of Monday morning.
While there have been numerous peaceful protests, what appears to be a separate faction of violent rioters and vandals has also erupted across the U.S., generally in the evenings. Many of these rioters have taken to vandalizing property by spray painting messages on public and private buildings, damaging cars, smashing windows, and setting fire to buildings. Some have also been throwing rocks, bricks, and other objects at police officers and citizens.
Having seen enough of the rioters that are causing destruction, Jones went out on the streets of Albuquerque, where he lives, to confront at least some of the people that wore facial coverings and had cans of spray paint in hand, apparently with the intent to vandalize his city.
Jones posted a video of the incident on his Instagram account, where he can be seen walking up to two individuals, simply demanding them to “give me the spray can.” Both of the individuals he confronted on camera relinquished the cans to Jones.
Like the rest of us, Jones has been following the protests and sees a faction of people that are being destructive as taking away from the intended message.
“Is this s–t even about George Floyd anymore?!? Why the f— are you punk ass teenagers destroying our cities!??” Jones said in a comment accompanying the video.
“As a young black man, trust me, I’m frustrated as well, but this is not the way, we are starting to make a bad situation worse. If you really got love for your city (505), protect your s–t. All you old heads need to speak up, call your young family members and tell them to come home tonight.”
The UFC included a remembrance of George Floyd at the beginning of the UFC on ESPN 9 main card broadcast on Saturday night.
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