Chicago, IL –In Grant Park, rioters, leaving a Black Lives Matter protest, faced off with Chicago Police Department as they were determined to tear down the Christopher Columbus statue Friday night.
Rioters can be seen on video throwing bricks and other objects at police who were there to ensure the statue did not get destroyed.
The rioters, shouting that Columbus was a murder, began hurling objects at police in what they call as “protective measures.”
One of the rioters/criminal, Melissa DuPrey, said that the statue needed to be removed because it represents the “oppression that affects Black and indigenous people in Chicago and across the nation.”
Protesters chanting “Bring it down” #ColumbusStatue #ChicagoProtests pic.twitter.com/LvzQYpiROW
— Grace Del Vecchio (@delvecchiograce) July 18, 2020
She also added that violently attacking the police without provocation was necessary to ensure that “police don’t enforce violence on us, because that’s what police do…instill violence.”
The group of rioters may have come from a recent event, the Black and Indigenous Solidarity Rally Protests which were being held at the Buckingham Fountain a few miles away from the scene, Arrigo Park.
Those that were in the protest/riot, held banners which held slogans such as “Defund CPD,” (Chicago Police Department), “Black Lives Matter” and “Decolonize Zhigaagoong,” something which refers to a movement wanting to restore lands to American Indians who lived there prior to being removed by the US Military well over one hundred years ago, in 1833.
Police, protesters clash near Columbus Statue after reports of pepper spray being used, courtesy @delvecchiograce https://t.co/TY8afADfwC pic.twitter.com/B41iLz16cG
— WGN TV News (@WGNNews) July 18, 2020
The Chicago Tribune reported that approximately 1,000 rioters came to the park and circled the statue of Christopher Columbus. They threw ropes around the statute and made attempts at removing it from the base, all while chanting that “Columbus was a murder, Columbus was a thief.”
A protest near the Christopher Columbus statue in Chicago’s Grant Park turned violent, as tense clashes erupted between protesters and police. https://t.co/9RyLkCsNVf pic.twitter.com/b6bOUQP55a
— ABC News (@ABC) July 18, 2020
Dozens of officers were called to the scene in an effort to prevent the statue from being destroyed and get the crowd to leave. As they assembled around the statue, rioters began throwing objects and fireworks at them in attempts to harm them. While trying to injure officers, they began chanting:
“Who do you serve? Who do you protect?”
During the illegal and violent gathering, the rioters appear to start fighting between themselves, but, no clear indication as to why. T
he fights spilled over and ended up leaving almost twenty police officers injured by the rioters, no clear reports as of this article of any rioter being injured. Twelve rioters were arrested during the melee.
Rioters ended up dispersing after the police there used chemical agents (less lethal force) in order to disperse the crowd.
The officers were successful in ensuring that the statue of Columbus was not destroyed during this incident. However, they were unsuccessful in ensuring that no damage occurred to the statue itself. Reports came in that the statue was spray painted and vandalized during the riot in Arrigo Park.
It is believed that a portion of those that attended the mainly peaceful events of the Solidarity Rally at Buckingham Fountain which sought to defund the Chicago Police Department may have spilled over into the riots over the Columbus statute.
That event was put on by Black Lives Matter of Chicago, Chi-Nations Youth Council, Black Youth Project 100, Chicago Alliance against Racial and Political Repression among many other groups.
What is clear among all of this, there are certain members of this great nation which work to divide all of us. Certain people who show up to these events do not care if the police are there to protect their rights or the property rights of any entity. The people who choose to riot have only one thought in their mind, to destroy any attempts at peaceful dialogue.
In the meantime, an officer in Minnesota was almost killed this week in a separate incident:
CRYSTAL, MN – According to police, an officer with the Crystal Police Department was reportedly severely injured after being run over by a vehicle which held three assailants. Police are said to now have all three in custody, two of whom are juveniles.
An Iowa teen is charged with running over a Crystal police officer Thursday after leading law enforcement on a chase. | https://t.co/n28POmhZra pic.twitter.com/IcBICthOIi
— WCCO – CBS Minnesota (@WCCO) July 17, 2020
The incident reportedly happened on July 16th, according to a news release from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Preliminary details state that the pursuit started shortly after 1:00 p.m. on the 16th, when a Minnesota State Patrol trooper tied to pull over a vehicle for speeding on I-694.
Apparently, the driver didn’t stop for the trooper, and a pursuit began.
During said pursuit, units from the Crystal Police Department assisted the State Police in trying to apprehend the fleeing vehicle. Units from both outfits boxed in the vehicle near 57th Avenue North and West Broadway Avenue, and from there officers attempted to take the suspects into custody.
However, the driver attempted to flee once again, and in the process, struck and ran over a Crystal Police officer while colliding with several police cruisers.
Crystal Police Chief Stephanie Revering described the overall situation as something “horrific”:
“It’s horrific. This is horrible, this is something that police departments do not want to see happen.”
Reports released by the MDPS indicate that one officer on the scene fired at the suspect’s vehicle after striking the officer. No suspects were struck by said gunfire, but the officer has been placed on administrative leave, per protocol.
Police were eventually able to take the suspects into custody. In the vehicle were an 18-year-old man and two juvenile males, all of whom were processed over at the Hennepin County Jail. One suspect was treated for minor “superficial” injuries at the scene of the arrest, but the press release did not elaborate beyond that.
As for the officer, who has not been identified at this time, they were reportedly treated for “serious, but non-life-threatening injures” after the incident.
Minnesota has been a bit of a hot mess lately overall, especially when it comes to the aftermath of the riots. Oh, and wouldn’t you know – now officials in the state are asking for some financial assistance after the riots they couldn’t quell.
You’ve got to be kidding! https://t.co/TvYOt5bgtA
— Lilith Lingo (@LilithLingo) July 4, 2020
Floyd had a long criminal record, including multiple drug convictions and the armed robbery of a pregnant black woman in a home invasion. The officers involved were terminated the following day without benefit of due process. Later on the same day, riots ensued in Minneapolis and other cities.
On May 27, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey made an appearance on The Chad Hartman Show, a local radio news talk program.
He said:
“Would Floyd still be alive if we were white? I believe that the answer is yes.”
According to Frey, Floyd’s death spoke to 400 years of unfairness and inequity faced by African Americans.
In a televised press conference, Frey said:
“Being black in America should not be a death sentence.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz calmly stated that “to those who are afraid, I not only see you, I hear you, and I stand with you. We will get answers. We will seek justice. George Floyd didn’t deserve to die, but George Floyd does deserve justice.”
Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan was more passionate. She said that “we,” meaning the government, “will seek justice.”
She added, however, that they can never return to normal, because “normal” means that “black and brown bodies are not safe.”
Frey clearly implied that Floyd’s death was due to racism, not poor police practice, overzealousness, or any other cause. Flanagan also emphasized racism as the cause of Floyd’s death. Walz was equivocal in his statement, which was worded in a way that could be interpreted as support for protests or caution against rioting.
All three of these officials provided tacit approval to varying degrees of the premise that racism played a causative role in Floyd’s death.
Keep in mind that all of this occurred prior to the completion of an investigation or review of evidence.
Instead, public release of the video of Floyd’s death by seventeen-year-old Darnella Frazier allowed premature conclusions to be drawn, guilt to be assessed, and punishment determined by the public, not law enforcement.
It was an extra-judicial process that was said to be stage-managed by interested parties such as the Marxist group Black Lives Matter and the domestic terror group Antifa. State and local officials who lacked the resolve to resist public opinion encouraged the protests and riots that followed by doing nothing or by vocally supporting the protesters.
MINNESOTASTAN: Commie Governor begs Trump for $500 million to clean up the mess he allowed BLM/Antifa/Islamic rioters and looters to cause
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz asked President Trump for a federal disaster declaration statehttps://t.co/7k5EJfMncS— The Pork Chop Express. (@Jackk_Burton) July 4, 2020
Now, those same public officials are asking for up to $500 million in federal funds in disaster relief.
There is no question that the riots in Minneapolis and other major cities around the United States have been disasters to the concerned communities. The question is whether the federal government should pay to clean up the mess.
President Trump, frustrated by inaction on the part of city officials, encouraged governors to call in the National Guard to quell unrest. To his credit, Governor Walz heeded the president’s advice, and called in the National Guard, though it was several days after the majority of the damage had been done.
Other governors did not call in the Guard, and some of those are still experiencing dangerous protests as this is written, over a month after the protests began.
Minneapolis mayor Frey and other officials encouraged protesters by validating the idea that racism killed Floyd. They also validated the idea that the police department in Minneapolis and nationwide was rife with systemic racism.
Both of these positions are reckless and antithetical to what is known of “systemic racism” a characteristic so difficult to find that it is either so well-disguised it is invisible or it doesn’t exist. They are also reckless regarding the circumstances of Floyd’s death, which hadn’t been investigated at the time the statements were made.
It is possible that local and state officials in Minnesota and other states contributed to the riots by first encouraging the people involved, then by not doing anything to stop them, and third, by ceding territory, such as Minneapolis’ third precinct house, which burned to the ground.
The result is widespread and expensive destruction across the country. If that is the case, why should the federal government bail out cities for their own mismanagement? The riots didn’t “just happen,” like a tornado or hurricane, well outside of human control.
When Mayor Frey and Governor Walz tender their resignations, then and only then should President Trump give a Disaster Declaration.
— John Quasney (@JohnQuasney1) July 4, 2020
The riots were controlled exclusively by humans, at least some of whom held positions of responsibility and had the authority to put measures in place to stop the riots and mitigate the harm.
More to the point, the riots were criminal acts, in some cases aided and abetted by city officials, such as Seattle’s mayor Jenny Durkan, who only ordered rioters removed from the illegally occupied “CHOP zone” after several murders in the area and demonstrators approached her own home, several weeks after the occupation began.
By waiting as long as she did to restore order, damage was compounded daily as private and public structures were vandalized and looted, residents and shopkeepers were prevented from utilizing their property, public services were reduced to an unsatisfactory minimum, and resources were diverted from residents who needed them.
COMMUNIST DEMOCRAT Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has asked President Trump for a federal disaster declaration in his state due to “extensive fire damage” and other destruction in the unrest that followed George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody on Memorial Day. pic.twitter.com/D5R833yc6p
— Fightforliberty (@FightonUSA) July 3, 2020
Who normally pays for damages resulting from criminal acts? Insurance and/or the criminals themselves.
In this case, thanks to a windfall of donations to BLM and other so-called “social justice” groups, it is possible to make significant recoveries from many of the primary motivators behind the protests and riots.
Hundreds of millions of dollars from private and corporate donors across America have already been transferred to the accounts of groups involved in the protests as of June 14, 2020 (Goldmacher, 2020).
Would it be too much to ask that they too contribute to a good cause?
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