Civil rights activist cautions protesters to watch for agitators

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — A local man, who protested during the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement, has cautioned Black Lives Matter protesters to beware of people attempting to turn peaceful protests into riots.

Victor Collier has lived through riots and understands the frustrations in seeking justice.

“We’ve reached an all-time fever at this juncture where everyone says enough is enough,” Collier said. “These kids today have had enough because they’ve watched the movies, they’ve seen the tapes,” Collier said.

Collier called this weeks destruction of business “not normal.”

“When you do it long enough it becomes normal and there’s nothing normal about it. You’re trying to stop and bring peace to a world because you know the outcome of it,” Collier said.

One of yesterday’s protesters Yacob Williams said he’s trying to keep the peace.

“It’s a separate group of people, call them agitators, people trying to take advantage of the situation,” Williams said.

Nine people were arrested, many of whom were from outside the city. Collier said protesters should not be riled up by the ‘agitators.’

“When it’s all over with, you’re still living in the burned out area because you can’t afford to move out of the mess you just made. And the people who created and helped you do this go back where they came from,” Collier said.