Tonight, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where the Nets and the Cavaliers are playing, is quite a sight.
On one hand, inside we have the US "royal family" present:
At http://t.co/2haHKj630m [5] -- Tonight in Brooklyn! #netsgame [6] #barclayscenter [7] #beyonce [8] #jayz [9] #RoyalVisitUsa [10] #Prin [11]... pic.twitter.com/cBeopEhQsG [12]
— favgirlcrush (@favgirlcrush) December 9, 2014 [13]
... as well as the equally famous UK royals visiting from England:
America's #RoyalCouple [14] center court @barclayscenter [15]. William & Kate have just entered. #RoyalVisitUSA [16] #JayZ [17] #Beyonce [18] pic.twitter.com/UoTnXeWRaL [19]
— Jim Shi (@jimshi809) December 9, 2014 [20]
Meanwhile, another King is down on the court, even if in protest:
LeBron wearing #ICantBreathe [21] shirt ahead of tonight's game at @barclayscenter [15] with William and Kate set to attend. pic.twitter.com/BghzRNbGW6 [22]
— Bryan Armen Graham (@BryanAGraham) December 9, 2014 [23]
King James @barclayscenter [15] playing 2night 4 the memory of #EricGarner [24] #ICantBreathe [21] #BarclaysCenter [25] #NYC [26] #Brooklyn [27] pic.twitter.com/6hq86KiBsZ [28]
— William Torres (@williamcrespo11) December 9, 2014 [29]
Meanwhile, other "protesters" have gathered outside...
#ICantBreathe [21] protests inside mall across from #BarclaysCenter [25] pic.twitter.com/rhaLrMM4Rb [30]
— Chris Arnone (@arnone_chris) December 9, 2014 [31]
“Brimoore17: RT NYCityAlerts: #Royals [32] get a #Brooklyn [27] welcome at #BarclaysCenter [25] #EricGarner [24] #ICantBreathe [21] #royal [33]... pic.twitter.com/IjROHqJhAn [34]”
— Psychedelic Raver (@CharlesJayyy) December 9, 2014 [35]
“#NYC [26] #Brooklyn [27] MT @DevCNYC [36]: #ICantBreathe [21] being chanted in front of The #BarclaysCenter [25] #RoyalShutDown [37] #EricGarner [24] https://t.co/3aE7Pw1SjB [38]”
— Psychedelic Raver (@CharlesJayyy) December 9, 2014 [39]
“@Breaking911 [40]:Protesters Still Outside Of #BarclaysCenter [25] In #NYC [26] http://t.co/hPAzVXnenR [41] pic.twitter.com/8J9ozNdLd5 [42]”
A lot of ppl with no jobs
— Jonathan Capace (@Capace17) December 9, 2014 [43]
Activists at #BarclaysCenter [25] hoping the #PowerOfSilence [44] will be heard: @andersoncooper [45] on #Brooklyn [27]'s, #NYC [26] #die [46]-in pic.twitter.com/JlaJmDckIn [47]
— Michael J. Buell (@buell003) December 9, 2014 [48]
Russell Simmons @UncleRUSH [49] at the #BlackLivesMatter [50] #royalshutdown [51] at the #BarclaysCenter [25] #EricGarner [24] #HandsUp [52] pic.twitter.com/yCkt0bxZwD [53]
— EdenBrower (@edenbrower) December 9, 2014 [54]
... and are proceeding to engage the police.
Protesters at #BarclaysCenter [25] got what they wanted, entering a closed mall. pic.twitter.com/Qjst7LyMmn [55]
— Stephen Nessen (@s_nessen) December 9, 2014 [56]
"You serve us!!" Hundreds in front of #barclayscenter [7] #icantbreathe [57] https://t.co/E5wCDvi39O [58]
— Mattiverse (@Mattiverse) December 9, 2014 [59]
... as well as attempting the now traditional looting of any local retail outlets:
NOW: Crowd Rushes Target Store Near #BarclaysCenter [25] In #NYC [26] -#ICantBreathe [21] -WATCH - http://t.co/RSK0ZJVDi9 [60] pic.twitter.com/QSFTBPseJM [61]
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 9, 2014 [62]
As for the punchline: until this moment Emergency Medical Services were waiting on standby, when this happened:
EMS responding to the Barclays Center after an NYPD officer accidentally pepper sprayed himself instead of a protestor.
— PzFeed Top News (@PzFeed) December 9, 2014 [63]
Or just the right amount of comic ineptitiude to either diffuse the tense situation or to result in something far more dangerous, especially with all the celebrities already present and accounted for.
Watch what happens with the following life feed.
