A march to take over a vacant building by members of the Occupy Oakland movement turned violent on Saturday, after protesters began tearing down barricades and destroying construction equipment.

When police ordered the crowd to disperse, officers were pelted with bottles, metal pipe, rocks, spray cans, improvised explosive devices and burning flares. According to an Oakland press release, the police responded to these attacks with smoke, tear gas and beanbag projectiles.

Some of the protesters even pre-constructed elaborate shields in anticipation of police resistance. One such shield, on display at City Hall on Sunday, was about 6 by 4 feet and built of corrugated metal on wood panels, complete with multiple handles. “Commune Move In” was painted on the front of the shield. “The shields are becoming stronger, larger and more mobile,” said Oakland Police Department spokeswoman Johnna Watson. “We’re in a dangerous area for law enforcement …. We are being assaulted, and when we react to those assaults, we can’t penetrate shields like this.”

Apparently the protesters wanted to “occupy” the empty Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center and use it as a commune-like command center for further protest. After being expelled from the area surrounding the convention center, the protesters attempted to “occupy” the nearby Oakland Museum of California. Later, the protesters entered the downtown Oakland ymca and broke into City Hall.

Three police officers and at least one protester were injured in the hostilities. So far, over 400 people have been arrested.

In an open letter to Mayor Jean Quan, the group threatened actions like “blockading the airport indefinitely, occupying City Hall indefinitely” and “shutting down the Oakland ports.”

The mayor reiterated to the press that the damage done by the protesters to the City Hall plaza alone has cost $2 million since October. City officials estimate that another $2.4 million in damage was suffered when the protesters closed down the Port of Oakland last December.

For the latest damages, Mayor Quan said the city would seek monetary compensation from protesters.

Ironically, a protest movement that sprung up to demonstrate against joblessness and poverty is only making matters worse. Closing ports and occupying public buildings are not just anti-Wall Street; they are anti-trade and anti-business. In the end, such a strategy of shutting down businesses and harming profits will harm the average American worker far more than it will harm Wall Street bigwigs.

Yet, such protests seem to be growing in strength despite, or perhaps because of, police action taken against them.

Last week, billionaire investor George Soros warned of all-out class warfare as the economy deteriorates. “Yes, yes, yes,” Soros told the Daily Beast on the subject of whether “riots on the streets of American cities are inevitable.” Soros then went on to claim that the solution to such violent rioting was for President Barack Obama to increase taxes on the rich in an attempt to solve social inequality.

While Soros is right about the inevitability of rioting in the streets, his solution is only likely to further escalate class tensions. Taking money from those who own businesses and giving it those who are threatening to shut them down is not a viable solution to American joblessness.

Expect violent rioting of the type seen last week in Oakland to soon engulf cities across America. The political establishment is gearing up for a presidential election campaign based on partisan division, class warfare and even hints of racism. The Occupy protesters are likely to become a major component of this campaign. For further information, read Philip Nice’s article “Blood in the Streets” and the most recent editorial by editor in chief Gerald Flurry, “U.S. Attorney General Ignites the Race Bomb.”