Demonstrations ostensibly meant to protest police brutality and the death of George Floyd at the hand’s of a white police officer in Minneapolis devolved in chaos over the weekend.
The wave of riots throughout the nation followed earlier demonstrations resulting in the destruction of property in Minneapolis. Videos captured from the events show masked protesters in conflict with armed riot police, as well as a considerable amount of looting and vandalism. Police squad cars, precincts, and even retail stores have come to be the targets of full-on arson.
The demonstrations were ostensibly done to bring attention to what many are calling the murder of Floyd by the now-fired officer Derek Chauvin. Witnesses filmed Chauvin pressing his knee into Floyd while detaining him for allegedly using a fake $20 bill at a local vendor. Floyd was heard telling onlookers that he could not breathe, and became unresponsive while Chauvin continued to press his knee down.
To be sure, Chauvin’s actions look egregious by any measure. If nothing else, he single-handedly made every good police officer’s job much more difficult. However, it’s anyone’s guess as to what demonstrators wish to accomplish by torching their cities and putting innocent people in danger.
The truth is that this isn’t about the death of George Floyd anymore. This is about anarchist radicals taking advantage of a horribly tragic situation. Unfortunately, innocent Americans — particularly small businesses owners — are paying the price.
The worst part is that this could have been a moment where Americans came together in unity. Sadly, political agitators had other plans.
“I returned from a two-day Jewish holiday and half the country is on fire,” conservative commentator Ben Shapiro tweeted. “We all agree on George Floyd, which is why a bad cop is now under arrest. Anyone who defends looting and rioting and targeting of business-owners and cops on this basis is nothing short of evil.”
Here’s the DC shorts with footage from a demonstration in Baltimore, one of the many cities targeted by rioters and looters over the weekend. It it, you see police officers struggle to regain control of a situation after violent demonstrators vandalize a squad car.
