The New York Post reports that Eric Linsker, who teaches poetry at City University of New York and is 29 years old, was arrested Saturday during anti-police demonstrations in New York City,

… for allegedly attacking two NYPD lieutenants who tried to stop him from tossing a garbage can on cops from an elevated Brooklyn Bridge walkway.

Eric Linsker, 29, of Brooklyn allegedly brought a backpack holding three hammers and a black ski mask to the massive anti-cop march that turned violent around 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Linsker and the other protesters ran away after kicking and punching the two cops — one of whom suffered a broken nose — but he was tracked down through evidence found in his bag, which had been left behind, sources said.

It is hard to think of a good explanation for bringing a ski mask and hammers to a demonstration that does not involve disguise and violence.  And there is precedent for exactly those items being used criminally, as in Berkeley, when a nonviolent protester attempt to stop others from trashing a store:

Linsker, the Post reports, is a Harvard grad and is studying at Columbia Teachers College, adding an Ivy League pedigree to his alleged thuggery.  His lawyer avers:

“Eric merely picked up a garbage can, and when told by police to put it down he complied,” Stolar said.

Why does someone pick up a garbage can?  The report indicates he was standing on a elevated walkway.  So why would he pick up a large and heavy object?  Did it have anything to do with having a ski mask?

His poetry, according to his apartment roommate, has become more political of late:

In a rambling, profanity-laced poem published online by adult-mag.com, Linsker wrote: “F–k the police/To rise as you/Disappear below current/Interpretations of observations/F–k the police.”

A charming fellow on the public payroll.  He is out on personal recognizance, despite the prosecutors' asking for $25,000 bail.