LANCASTER, PA – Apparently one judge based out of Pennsylvania is not all for alleged rioters getting locked up and then being able to snag bail just in time for the next staged riot.
After 13 alleged rioters, 12 adults and one juvenile, were arrested following the September 14th riots in Lancaster, Magisterial District Judge Bruce A. Roth set nine of the adults’ bail amounts at $1 million.
ABOUT TIME!!==>>Lancaster protesters held on whopping $1 million bail each after alleged riots https://t.co/BGPFtpP6Ih via @nypost
— Connie Hair 🇺🇸 (@ConnieHair) September 15, 2020
This is probably hardly shocking to most, but the threshold to riot has gotten incredibly low for what folks online will call “police brutality,” “state-sanctioned violence” or some other term to vilify police.
In the case of Lancaster, rioters and protesters gathered to “demand justice” for a man chasing an officer with a knife who was fatally shot by police.
The body camera footage in which an officer shoots 27-year-old Ricardo Munoz on September 13th was released relatively quickly and showcases Munoz chasing the officer with a knife.
2) Violent protests broke out nearly immediately. Why are these anarchists tearing shit up and threatening the police when they do not even know what happened?
Answer: This is a disruptive ideology not a group that cares about black lives. It’s about getting Biden elected. pic.twitter.com/XdV7cQVrF9
— The Grey Ghost Biker – ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ #Survivor 2.0 (@GreyGhost_Biker) September 14, 2020
But if recent times have taught the general public anything, it’s that it doesn’t matter to some whether a police shooting is justified or not – because these protests are seemingly being used as vehicles to spread chaos and vitriol.
People online are claiming that Munoz was suffering from a mental health episode when he chased an officer while swinging a knife (and got dangerously close, too, according to the body cam footage).
“He had an episode. He was just incoherent and acting out,” she said. “I called to find out what the procedure was to get him some help.”@DanNephinLNP talked with Ricardo Munoz’s sister about his mental health struggles. https://t.co/elcmUwwSxv
— Gillian McGoldrick (@gill_mcgoldrick) September 14, 2020
However, most reasonable people would deduce that it’s not the responsibility of a victim (in this case, the officer being chased) to ascertain the motivations behind someone chasing them with a knife.
Not to mention, Munoz was also awaiting trial on separate charges for stabbing four other people in 2019.
Should he not have already been on meds after the last 4 people he stabbed 🤔
— Allison Duke (@AllisonDuke) September 15, 2020
Nonetheless, the inevitable riots followed suit the day after the police-involved shooting.
Police say that a mob of people began marching from the site of the shooting and arrived at the local police station – throwing the likes of bricks, rocks, glass bottles and even road barricades at officers.
Of the dozen adults arrested during the riot, most were met with charges ranging from arson and rioting to criminal conspiracy and institutional vandalism. The names of the arrestees are as follows:
- Jamal Shariff Newman, 24
- Barry Jones, 30
- Frank Gaston, 43
- Dwayne Montague, 23
- Matthew Modderman, 31
- Talia Gessner, 18
- Kathryn Patterson, 20
- Taylor Enterline, 20
- T-Jay Fry, 28
- Dylan Davis, 28
- Lee Alexander Wise, 29
- Maire Lopez, 32
The juvenile, who was unnamed due to his age, was identified as a 16-year-old facing charges of riot, disorderly conduct, possession of instruments of crime, possession of a small amount of marijuana, propulsion of missiles onto a roadway and institutional vandalism.
Outside of charges related to the typical tropes present during the riots, Dwayne Montague was also charged with possession of an illegal firearm.
Violence, mayhem and destruction doesn’t get people on your side except for more criminals. It only feeds a growing counter resistance and a demand from the public for government to crack down harder.
— AmbientHex (@AmbientHex) September 15, 2020
Judge Roth has set the bail for Newman, Jones, Montague, Modderman, Gessner, Patterson, Enterline, Fry and Davis at $1 million. Said bail amount has reportedly upset the likes of Lancaster Stands Up, which describes itself as a “grassroots organization fighting for an America that is for all of us”.
The organization took to Twitter to say the following about the bail amounts:
“The absurdly high bail amounts indicate that what we’re seeing is not a measured pursuit of justice, but a politically motivated attack on the movement for police reform and accountability.”
The arrested are part of an insurgency group that is determined to destroy our society. Their own words… If released they pose a threat to the peace and tranquillity of the community. Bail should be set higher under those circumstances. Hopefully other jurisdictions follow.
— SamSung (@FarmerSamSung) September 15, 2020
Others online are clapping back, explaining that the bail amounts established are a means to not only restore order – but also set a precedent while ensuring that the most egregious of alleged rioters cannot be back out on the streets in 24 hours or less.
Arson provides hope? The hopeful arsonist sounds like an indie film. You should totally pitch that
— Lee (@KaizokuLee) September 15, 2020
However, more and more sympathy perspectives are being shared online with regard to the bail amount, painting the alleged rioters as “providing hope”.
At this point, the only thing they’re likely to provide is a police report attached to a business’ insurance claim.
Lest we forget which party supports anarchy and which supports law and order, check out this story from LET:
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – On one hand, you’ve got President Trump who says he’ll designate Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization.
Then you’ve got his November opponent, Joe Biden, who has campaign staff advertising the fact that they are making donations to a group which is paying bail fees for those arrested in Minneapolis.
It is safe to say that some of those arrested are members of this domestic terror group.
“Reuters reported that 13 members of the Biden campaign recently posted on Twitter about their donations to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, a group that uses such donations to pay bail fees of rioters arrested in violent protests.” @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/oJFpoTNeYx
— Liberty Bell 1000 (@LibertyBell1000) May 31, 2020
According to Reuters, at least 13 members of Biden’s campaign staff posted on Twitter over the weekend that they had made donations to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, a group that opposes the imposition of cash bail, or requiring people to pay to avoid pre-trial imprisonment.
This particular group pays bail fees in Minneapolis.
BREAKING: Biden staff to donate bail to Antifa https://t.co/qseoJN2CME
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) May 30, 2020
In a statement to Reuters, Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates noted that Biden opposes cash bail and says it is the “modern day debtors prison.”
Overwhelmed doesn’t even begin to describe the feeling. This is the turnout for a call for 80 bags of food for families who live near the 3rd Police Precinct who lost their convenient stores in the riots this week in South Minneapolis.
All donations, all volunteers. #wcco pic.twitter.com/1PzGXk1OQS
— Marielle Mohs (@MarielleMohs) May 31, 2020
However Biden’s camp refused to answer questions about whether or not the donations were coordinated with Biden’s campaign.
This would seem to indicate that his camp is trying to distance itself from what have been extremely violent protests, which have resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage, as well as leaving hundreds of police officers injured nationwide.
Man laughs at Asian owner whose business got looted during riots in Minneapolishttps://t.co/YqH6WJMIL8 pic.twitter.com/8bY1JNh1La
— HopClear (@HopClear) May 30, 2020
Bates did state that the former vice president had commented that while the “protesters” have the right to be angry, more violence will not solve the problems of alleged unequal justice.
Former firefighter reduced to tears as his dream business is destroyed during Minneapolis riots https://t.co/NJhO9lupzy
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) May 31, 2020
President Trump’s campaign called it “disturbing” that members of Biden’s team “would financially support the mayhem that is hurting innocent people and destroying what good people spent their lives building,” in an email about a story in Reuters that called on Biden to condemn the riots.
Hi Justin,
I want you to watch this clip and then explain to Stephanie why you are using your platform to support bailing out the people who destroyed her community. Will you be donating anything to support those trying to rebuild those neighborhoods?https://t.co/HkgoHZ6mEU
— (((AG))) (@AGHamilton29) May 31, 2020
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