Gov. Cuomo raises possibility of NYC curfew amid George Floyd protests

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday raised the possibility of imposing a curfew on New York City — saying looters had “hijacked” protests over the police killing of George Floyd to break into luxury stores like Rolex and Chanel.

“Many cities use a curfew,” Cuomo said.

“My basic point is, last night was bad. The criminality, the looting was the most egregious, the people exploiting the circumstance.”

During his daily coronavirus briefing in Albany, Cuomo said there was “no doubt that there are people who just use this moment to steal.”

“What, is it a coincidence that they broke into a Rolex watch company? That was a coincidence? High-end stores, Chanel — that was a coincidence? That was random? That was not random,” he said.

“So, can you have a legitimate protest movement hijacked? Yes, you can. And there are people and forces who will exploit that moment, and I believe that’s happening.”

Cuomo also said that “extremist groups” had been infiltrating protests across the state to “come in to disrupt.”

“I hear the same thing from all the local officials. They have people in their communities who are there to, quote-unquote, protest,” he said.

“They’re not from their communities. They don’t know where they’re from.”

Cuomo said he would speak later Monday with Mayor Bill de Blasio about imposing a curfew.

“I could impose a curfew. Legally, I could impose a curfew,” he said.

“I’m not at that point. But I know something has to be done. Because last night was not acceptable, and the night before was not acceptable on any level.”

Cuomo has said previously that the National Guard was “on standby” to help quell protests across the state and on Monday noted, “We have 13,000 National Guard, who we can use at any moment.”

About 5,000 guard members have been mobilized in 15 states and the District of Columbia since protests over Floyd’s killing turned violent last week, according to the Military Times.