A protester carries the carries a U.S. flag upside, a sign of distress, next to a burning building Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis. Protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody Monday, broke out in Minneapolis for a third straight night. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Previous Post
Next Post

Protests, rioting and looting intensified last night in Minneapolis over the killing of George Floyd earlier this week. Police officers abandoned the third district station as it was taken over by rioters and burned.

From the Associated Press:

Cheering protesters torched a Minneapolis police station Thursday that the department was forced to abandon as three days of violent protests spread to nearby St. Paul and angry demonstrations flared across the U.S over the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air as a white police officer kneeled on his neck.

A police spokesman confirmed late Thursday that staff had evacuated the 3rd Precinct station, the focus of many of the protests, “in the interest of the safety of our personnel” shortly after 10 p.m. Livestream video showed the protesters entering the building, where fire alarms blared and sprinklers ran as blazes were set.

Protesters gather in front of the burning Minneapolis police 3rd Precinct building Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis. Protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody Monday, broke out in Minneapolis for a third straight night. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Protesters could be seen setting fire to a Minneapolis Police Department jacket.

Late Thursday, President Donald Trump blasted the “total lack of leadership” in Minneapolis. “Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” he said on Twitter.

People take items from a liquor store Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis. Protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody Monday, broke out in Minneapolis for a third straight night. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

A visibly tired and frustrated Frey made his first public appearance of the night at City Hall near 2 a.m. and took responsibility for evacuating the precinct, saying it had become too dangerous for officers there. As Frey continued, a reporter cut across loudly with a question: “What’s the plan here?”

“With regard to?” Frey responded. Then he added: “There is a lot of pain and anger right now in our city. I understand that … What we have seen over the past several hours and past couple of nights here in terms of looting is unacceptable.”

People stand outside the Minneapolis police 3rd Precinct building after fires were set at the building, Thursday, May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis, during demonstrations over the death George Floyd on Monday in Minneapolis police custody. (Carlos Gonzalez/Star Tribune via AP)

He defended the city’s lack of engagement with looters — only a handful of arrests across the first two nights of violence — and said, “We are doing absolutely everything that we can to keep the peace.” He said Guard members were being stationed in locations to help stem looting, including banks, grocery stores and pharmacies.

To help the overwhelmed mayor, Governor Tim Walz activated five hundred national guard troops late last night to try to protect citizens and businesses.

From KSTP.com:

It’s the first time the National Guard has been activated for a civil disturbance since 2008 when Gov. Tim Pawlenty deployed 300 troops to control riots outside the Republican National Convention.

The National Guard Adjutant General will work with local government agencies to provide personnel, equipment, and facilities needed to respond to and recover from this emergency, according to the news release.

About 200 Minnesota State Patrol troopers will also assist in public safety efforts over the next several days.

Given the violence and extent of the rioting and looting in the city, that number seems wholly insufficient. Meanwhile, demonstrations expanded to other cities including Louisville, where violence broke out as people protested the shooting of Breonna Taylor by police in March while executing a plainclothes no-knock raid on her home.

Fromt he AP:

At least seven people were shot in Louisville as protesters turned out to demand justice for Breonna Taylor, a black woman fatally shot by police in her home in March.

Louisville Metro Police confirmed in a statement early Friday that there were at least seven shooting victims, at least one of whom is in critical condition. The statement said there were “some arrests,” but police didn’t provide a number.

In a photo provided by Jada W., protesters gather Thursday, May 28, 2020, in downtown Louisville, Ky., against the police shooting of Breonna Taylor, a black woman fatally shot by police in her home in March. At least seven people were shot during the protest. (Jada W. via AP)

“No officers discharged their service weapons,” police spokesman Sgt. Lamont Washington wrote in an email to The Associated Press. Washington said that all seven were civilians.

Around 500 to 600 demonstrators marched through the Kentucky city’s downtown streets on Thursday night, the Courier Journal reported. The protests stretched for more than six hours, ending in the early hours of Friday as rain poured down.

“Understandably, emotions are high,” Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer tweeted just before midnight, sharing a Facebook post asking for peace that he said was written on behalf of Taylor’s mother. “As Breonna’s mother says let’s be peaceful as we work toward truth and justice.”

From WDRB.com:

Police made some arrest during the protest, according to LMPD’s statement, but the department did not specify how many. More information will be made available Friday.

The crowd quickly dispersed from Jefferson Street after the shots were fired, and a large group of LMPD officers wearing riot gear entered the area to try and clear everyone out. Police then appeared to fire tear gas into the area when protesters refused to leave. …

Bianca Austin, Taylor’s aunt, posted a statement on behalf of Taylor’s mother to her Facebook page, according to a tweet from Fischer.

“We are so grateful for everyone giving Bre a voice tonight, for saying her name, for demanding truth, for demanding justice and for demanding accountability. Please keep demanding this. But please keep it peaceful. Do not succumb to the levels that we see out of the police. Speak. Protest. But do not resort to violence. We demand change. We demand reform. But we do not need for our community to get hurt. We need for our community to get justice. Thank you all so very much. #JusticeForBre”

Previous Post
Next Post

167 COMMENTS

  1. Good, it will pull people away from their computers and phones and make them have to get up and do something for a change, get them engaged in life…. human interaction

  2. This was reported hours ago.

    The new hotness is that protesters broke into the St. Paul zoo and there’s now at least one lion loose on the streets.

  3. Unlike the LA riots, will the National Guard actually have ammunition for their guns this time?

      • No. Like the NYC draft riot. When the mob set fire to an orphanage with black children inside. You see the government did want to shoot the rioters to protect private property.
        So the children were burned to death. Inside private property of course.

        • Humans have a right to protect their property with necessary force. America has stripped people of that right. Now most of the businesses were burned down by dumb white kids.

        • “Now most of the businesses were burned down by dumb white kids.”

          I wouldn’t doubt it, but what percentage exactly and what’s your source on that?

        • @Dude

          My source is hours of video from numerous live streams by the people there. One stream had a “reporter” interview the youth as to why they are burning down the city. Another stream had a white male commenting about how it’s almost exclusively white people smashing everything in the black neighborhood.

        • Anecdotal evidence doesn’t support a blanket claim like that. That doesn’t mean it isn’t true, but it doesn’t mean it is either. It would be more appropriate to say, “It appears that…”

        • @Dude

          Stop denying reality, it makes you appear to be a white supremacist when you do. There is hours of video, from a lot of people, showing the reality you refuse to see.

    • The National Guard at the LA Riots had bullets in their guns and were locked and loaded. How do I know this? I lived in LA county at the time, the night after the National Guard arrived a car load of armed gang bangers tried to run a National Guard barricade after curfew, the NG told them to stop but they refused and began shooting while accelerated toward them, the NG opened fired killing all 5 inside the vehicle. After that occurrence crime in Los Angeles went to almost zero while the NG were there. The NG is not there to play, they will take whatever action is necessary to bring peace back to the city; so you all are rioting over the death of one man, but now you’re causing the deaths of others. One protester was already killed trying to break into a store that I know of; so now all of you protesters are now guilty of killing someone…one of your own!

      As far as these current riots are concerned, or any other riots in the past or future, is just plain insanity being committed by certain people. What good is going to come from destroying property of innocent owners that had absolutely no involvement with George Floyd or his death? What good is going to come from ruining the livelihood of innocent workers who had absolutely no involvement with George Floyd or his death? What good is coming to come from all the huge tax money that is going to have to be used to fix the damages when all that money is going to have to come from raising taxes across the entire city?

      You people involved in causing that damage are stupid and insane, there are better ways to get your point across without damaging your neighborhoods and your income. The aftermath of the LA riots cost LA $775 million dollars, $1.3 billion in today’s dollars, that’s a $193 increase in property taxes for everyone living in LA; but it also cost LA $4 billion dollars in taxable sales over the following 10 years. This means that anyone who owns property had to pay more money out of their income, it means that people who rented property had to pay more per month for rent. You all think money grows on trees? NO, it comes out of your pockets.

      By the way, insurance doesn’t pay for damages caused by war or civil unrest.

      What more could the city of Minneapolis do? The city took FAST action by firing the cops involved, they are to prosecuted for causing the death of George Floyd, the one officer will spend a long time in jail, and jail is not real kind to former cops. You can’t ask for more than what the City has done and was going to do, that’s all they can do, it’s all anyone can do, justice was going to be served, the cop directly responsible as well as the others who did nothing were going to be arrested once the evidence was reviewed.

      • Yep, I’ve been here in LA County my entire life, and I recall well how the ’92 riots played out. The LAPD were called back to an outer perimeter to let the mob burn the epicenter, but when the NG showed up, they meant business. Peaceful assembly and protest is our protected right, but wanton destruction of property is not.

      • You say the city has done everything they could?

        How about arresting the LEO who murdered a suspect in public, on video?

        Or is that just a little too much ‘law & order’ for you?

      • Protesters are not looters.

        A lot of the rioters were young white people who are against capitalism. It appears most of them drove down to cause trouble. The Floyd protesters left when the sun was going down. The rioters were not there for Floyd and waited until the sun went down to go all out.

        The police didn’t and couldn’t protect all the businesses from the anti capitalists. They sent a bunch of cops to their buddies’ homes to protect them from protesters instead.

      • “By the way, insurance doesn’t pay…”

        Anyone who says no worries, insurance covers it is clueless about the real world. I heard low income housing burned down. Do they think those people had renters insurance? No, those literally and figuratively poor people lost what little they had. Even if you have good insurance, are the most valuable objects in your house furniture and electronics? No amount of money can replace items with sentimental value. Business records could be another item that can’t be replaced by insurance. And finally, the cost of insurance will go up in order to pay for damages. Insurance companies always find a way to come out on top.

        • Insurance of any kind is a scam. Sometimes you get lucky, but you will need a lawyer to create your luck.

        • I had a claim due to tornado damage. They paid quick but then promptly raised my rate enough to pay for the claim within a few years. Keep in mind, I had been paying them many years prior to this incident. I no longer do business with them (Farm Bureau).

      • The AG and DA are saying they are likely not going to charge the cops for any crimes. Qualified immunity and all that. They said they don’t see a crime after reviewing the evidence. Their policy allows him to do what he did, so they argue.

        I think Chauvin fled to Florida.

      • The police murder of a suspect is just the trigger event in a 3 month lockdown revolt. The pent-up frustration and hostility has found an excuse to unchain the beast…. caging it again could be ….. difficult.

    • A media guy asked the mayor if he is willing to kill the youth to stop them from rioting. Of course he made it sound less extreme, but by any means is quiet obvious and his anger can be recognized in his voice. The mayor got angry that the older generation want to kill the younger generation because the older generation ruined their society enough that their kids are rioting.

      The National Guard did arrive on scene. They were armed and ready to go. They were told to protect the fire fighters. I heard they were given the green light to shoot to kill.

      There was gunfire heard multiple times after the National Guard arrived. The crowds were saying it was people firing into the air. It sounded like a bunch of handguns and a rifle.

      A few people were injured during the police station fire and a white man tried to kill himself near the Autozone.

    • I have instructed the National Guard to dust off and nuke the site from orbit….. It’s the only way to be sure. They turned away shaking their heads, laughing….. I don’t think they’re going to follow my orders…. Oh well. It was worth a try. Maybe next time.

      Eric Swalwell 2020

  4. I hope Knees on Neck (his Indian name) feels as cool now as he did for about 10 minutes on Monday while he was mugging for the cameras on top of a suspect in medical distress.

    We are going to see a lot of “room to destroy.” The national guard is there supposedly to help the fire department but I suspect they’ll stay pulled back at night. The community that is so angry about being mistreated will burn and then demand to know why businesses and jobs flee the area.

    Political leaders in major cities like Chicago are currently bi-polar in what they expect the police to do about ‘protests’. At this point any patrolman being told to confront rioters should be read the 2020 version of a Miranda warning- anything you say or do will be used against you.

    • Update from Chicago’s SSC blog:
      “The Department will no longer use force to disperse large gatherings. Until further notice, large gatherings will only be monitored until the crowd disperse on it’s own. Please ensure that all supervisors under your command are made aware of this instruction.”

      Probably not something a property owner in certain areas want to hear. Did Baltimore neighborhoods hit by riots in ’13 ever recover economically?

      • “Probably not something a property owner in certain areas want to hear.”

        People are gonna tool-up, I bet…

      • Hannibal

        Areas from the LA 92 King riots 30 years later are still not rebuilt…the owners took the insurance money and LEFT
        Smart move!

        Still block after block with obvious burnt out building foot prints still there!

      • I am not mad that police are worrying about their own safety because it shows the dummies that guns are the answer if they want to be safe not feel safe. Tell the cops to return your guns to the people so they can protect themselves.

        • There are over 700 million guns in America. The cops have approximately 1 million of those guns. If they turned over their guns to the public that would be a .14% bump in gun ownership.

        • @California Richard

          A million black Americans armed? Sounds like a good start.

    • ROFLMAO.

      Reminds me of growing up. My friend’s dad was, and I would assume still is, a DIE HARD Lions fan.

      He noted to us kids one day that if the Lions won the Super Bowl there wouldn’t be much in the way of a riot because of the back-to-back Red Wings Stanley Cup wins had already consumed all the burnable materials in Detroit.

      At the time we didn’t fully appreciate the darkness of that joke.

  5. This is despicable, all of these people not social distancing. Only some are wearing masks. At least they are disinfecting those hard surfaces by setting them in fire.

    To be clear, I’m all for protesting police violence, but what does looting and burning local stores do? The local stores had nothing to do with it and are feeling most of the wrath. This would be like going out and punching your neighbors in the eye for something your dad did.

  6. “No officers discharged their service weapons,” police spokesman Sgt. Lamont Washington wrote in an email

    Um, did they discharge other weapons?

  7. People forget that the damn Democrats have given us 3 months of lockdowns – there is a lot of angst everywhere going into this. Look at the numbers, they should have listened to Trump and opened on Easter.

    • yeah I’m sure if everyone had only listened to trump we wouldn’t have racial tensions anymore

      Give it a break. Here’s a little newsflash for you- the people rioting haven’t been following ‘social distance’ rules for 2 months

  8. e tu Dan? “Protests”? I expect CNN to continue calling rioters “protesters” but I expect better from you. “I protested me 10 pairs of Jordans!”

      • Thank you captain obvious. Or was that a way to point out my poor Latin speling? Veni Vidi Vici beyotch!

        • If you’re going to use historical quotes then actually quote them. Don’t use some busted-ass rendition and then get pissy when someone points out the “obvious” thing that YOU screwed up.

        • You can always tell when someone has heard a reference but not actually read it…

        • Way off base guys. I just thought pointing out grammatical errors(grammar nazism)in casual chats went out of style long ago. I guess Strych9 didn’t get the memo. But I’ll dip my toe in…. Although English is a Germanic language we’ve borrowed a LOT from Latin so most of us know more Latin than Italian. I know very little Italian so I had to look this up: “You too” in Italian is “anche tu”, so how did my mistake of leaving out a single letter from a phrase I haven’t read in 40 years Lead you to associate it with Italian?

        • Likely “Tu” as being Italian, as this delightful woman sings :

        • “…so how did my mistake of leaving out a single letter from a phrase I haven’t read in 40 years Lead you to associate it with Italian?”

          Because the typical translation of “et tu, brute?” is “And you, Brutus?” and “e” in Italian is “and” in English.

          Which means that “e tu” looks very much like a butchering of both Latin and Italian… as if someone who’s main knowledge of a language other than English comes from Spanish where “y tu” is common.

  9. The way I see it there are three levels of people out in the streets of Minneapolis.
    1) Protesters
    2) Rioters
    3) Looters
    Only the first are justified – unless the business, housing (most of it serving low income) and infrastructure that serve the community we are in are somehow to blame for George’s death.

    • We would like to draw a sharp line between protest and lawlessness. Yet, I’m starting to wonder whether this attempt (to draw a sharp line) is useful.

      Heretofore, we thought that an adult wearing a mask in public (other than on Halloween) was indicative of intent to commit a crime. Now, such mask-wearing is politically correct (if not useful). That sharp line is no longer so clear.

      When state agents (police, FBI, etc.) violate civil rights under color of law with an attitude of impunity, responsible citizens will protest. Vigorously. Rioters will exploit the opportunity under the cover of protesters. Looters will exploit the rioters. The mainstream media will blur the distinctions between looting, rioting and protesting.

      Politicians don’t want to take responsibility for making the political situation worse by invoking use-of-force. They demure. The latest: Minneapolis’ mayor wouldn’t let the police defend their own precinct headquarters. Let alone, private property of business-/home-owners having no involvement in the incident.

      If we correctly tally the costs of such incidents of excessive force by state agents, shouldn’t we include the total costs of arson and looting by the lawless? Would these buildings have burned but for the killing by a police officer? Where do we place responsibility for such decisions:

      – the individual officer?
      – those officers who saw, but did not intervene?
      – superior officers who cultivated and tolerated use of excessive force?
      – politicians who cultivated or tolerated use of excessive force?
      – the media?
      – We the People who voted for such politicians?

      How different is this incident – in respect of violation of civil rights under color of law – different from the circumstances surrounding General Michael Flynn? Not just General Flynn’s legal expenses. All the other subjects of investigation. Tying up Congress for 3 years.

      Who will watch the watchers? In our system of government, who will take responsibility for reining-in violations of civil rights under color of law? The judicial branch seems little interested in stepping up to the plate. Still less the legislative branch.

      I’m beginning to question two popular assertions:

      1. Only the police can be trusted to use lethal means of force;
      2. The police will protect you and your property.

    • Clearly the grievous injustice of the Floyd case caused people to want to express their discontent…by streaming their favorite Netflix shows on a brand new 70 inch TV.

  10. Dont send more people to stand and “watch”! If you’re gonna send someone to a riot, let them quell it! That’s right, RIOT! This may have started out as a demonstration, but once the BLM thugs and the other usual suspects got there……

    • You know, I don’t often agree with Chief Censor, or at least I usually disagree with his presentation style if not the substance, but on this one I think he’s right that a lot of this is ANTIFA and the more I watch the videos the more right that conclusion seems to be.

      We were supposed to leave for a fly fishing trip here this morning but canceled because passing through Denver right now seems unwise. So I took the time to watch a shitload of the videos from Minneapolis.

      CC seems to be right. Mostly the black folks are, in fact, protesting. It does seem to be white guys in their teens and 20’s that are breaking windows, starting fires and inciting violence. Looting seems to be mixed in a lot of cases. But the AutoZone that burned… the windows were pre-broken out by a white dude in a respirator and clad in black, it was black people that confronted him as he made his escape. The fences around Precinct 3 were pre-cut by a white guy in black. Buildings were having gas cans opened and lit by… white guys in black.

      I’m not going to say that I know “what’s going on”, and I hate sounding conspiratorial. However, if you sit there and watch the videos coming out… damn dude, it does seem like ANTIFA is trying to stir up some shit here.

      • Similar things happened during the protests against globalization so I wouldn’t be completely surprised.

        It would be interesting if the protesters got their hands on one of the implanted trouble-makers. They’re expecting that it’ll be an undercover cop which I don’t believe but the list of who they could be is interesting…

      • It’s just easier for chief censor to point out the whites in a riot. What is not easy for Libertarians Liberals and the Left is the fact that during the Rodney King LA riots back in 1992(?). Mexican immigrants, mostly illegal, where the majority arrested back then for burning and looting. They even waved the mexican flag while doing it.

        That is not something that people who believe in open borders want to talk about.
        It more covenient to blame the blacks.

        • Thanks. It’s not really a big deal. Just an annoyance at this point in time.

          We figured leaving at 0330 we’d miss any problems but on the way back we might not be so lucky. The fish can wait.

      • Sounds like a bunch of anarchists. Antifa generally seem to support the democrat party, and the DNC chair has even been vocally sympathetic toward them. That’s weird since the democrats are all about big government controlling every aspect of your lives. Imagine being so messed up in the head that you see yourself as a righteous person while destroying the homes and businesses of innocent third parties. What a bunch of immoral losers. Their parents failed them.

      • “But the AutoZone that burned… the windows were pre-broken out by a white dude in a respirator and clad in black, it was black people that confronted him as he made his escape.”

        Was this an example of ‘Black Bloc’ tactics, where they all dress the same to make individual identification difficult?

        Because AutoZone homie with the respirator sure looked the part…

        • “Was this an example of ‘Black Bloc’ tactics, where they all dress the same to make individual identification difficult?”

          You might have to scroll down a bit for this one, but look for the guy that looks like he’s hanging on the fence. White dude, blonde hair. I’ll see if I can find the one of the guy breaking the windows on the Autozone. This is just the fastest one I’ve found again. Cuts a nice hole at the bottom of the fence and then seems to be cutting the wires that attach one piece of fence to the ones on either side.

          https://twitter.com/i/status/1266115273796575233

        • Deep state operator? What was up with the umbrella though? People posted that he was a cop and matched what was visible of his mug to a police officers FB page. But who knows.

        • @Steven

          The umbrella is to prevent surveillance cameras, drones and helicopters from seeing who did it.

      • The radicals have joined forces . The community organizer is probably behind it. The socialists have realized they have zero chance of winning the next election, thus they have pulled out all the stops. Saw one of the rioters being interviewed where he stated that they wanted “justice” right now. I think that rioters should get justice right now at about 3,000 fps.

        • “The community organizer is probably behind it.”

          Of course, it’s all Obama’s fault! Why did not see that?

          What a conspiracy, a MPD cop working with Barack Obama, that is deep state!

  11. Minneapolis has had Democratic mayors for something like the past 40 years.
    I’ll bet that the rioters/protestors will vote blue again in upcomng elections.
    You deserve the representation that you vote for….good and hard.

    • Of course they will. They’re taught that the “other side” is evil and hates them. You don’t need a valid policy argument when the other side is evil.

  12. The timid souls that said this battle cannot be won; that we are condemned to a soulless wealth… Turns out they were right…

    So much for The Great Society:

    ———————————————————–

    We are going to build the Great Society.

    The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time.

    The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time. But that is just the beginning.

    The Great Society is a place where every child can find knowledge to enrich his mind and to enlarge his talents. It is a place where leisure is a welcome chance to build and reflect, not a feared cause of boredom and restlessness. It is a place where the city of man serves not only the needs of the body and the demands of commerce but the desire for beauty and the hunger for community. It is a place where man can renew contact with nature. It is a place which honors creation for its own sake and for what is adds to the understanding of the race. It is a place where men are more concerned with the quality of their goals than the quantity of their goods.

    But most of all, the Great Society is not a safe harbor, a resting place, a final objective, a finished work. It is a challenge constantly renewed, beckoning us toward a destiny where the meaning of our lives matches the marvelous products of our labor.

    Will you join in the battle to give every citizen an escape from the crushing weight of poverty?

    Will you join in the battle to make it possible for all nations to live in enduring peace — as neighbors and not as mortal enemies?

    Will you join in the battle to build the Great Society, to prove that our material progress is only the foundation on which we will build a richer life of mind and spirit?

    There are those timid souls that say this battle cannot be won; that we are condemned to a soulless wealth.

    Lyndon Baines Johnson

    The Great Society

    delivered 22 May 1964, Ann Arbor, MI

    ————————————–

    https://culturexchange1.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/hang-em-high.png

    • 1967 Poverty rate was 50.9

      2012 Poverty rate was 50.3

      That 0.6 change only cost us $22 TRILLION dollars in anti-poverty government programs.

      It also cost us by promoting dependency on and marriage to the government rather than looking to your family for support.

    • ROFL…….LBJ should have taken his own advice. He himself and the other democrats of the time BUILT the welfare system.

  13. I’d just like to point out to everyone here, as we watch this unfold, whatever your opinions, convictions, politics, anti/pro cop, anti/pro open carry, 9mm fans, .45 fans, glock fans, 1911 fans, whatever… look…

    This right here, is why we all own guns.

    For all intents and purposes, the SHTF in many areas of the country and it did so in a matter of hours.

    “Modern”, “progressive”, “open minded”, American cities in the 21sr century, essentially collapsed into states of anarchy comparable to places in the Middle East, in literally hours. Think of it this way, there were people who went to work before this started, worked a 12-16 hour shift, went home and went to bed, and woke up to a city on fire with no explanation.

    This is why you have guns. This is why you have 30 round mags. This is why you have 10,000 rounds of ammo.

    Because Civilization is only civilized for as long as everyone agrees it is. Personally I believe we stand on the precipice of a new dark age, a total collapse of western civilization, due to a number of factors. But that’s just me. Either way, don’t forget how quickly this can happen, and it can happen anywhere.

      • Hannibal,

        I live in a rural-ish area about 10 minutes from a city of something like 50,000 people (in a county with a population of about 350,000), and about 40 minutes beyond a major metropolitan area with a total population of something like 5 million people.

        I feel that my location is incredibly insulated from any possible wide-scale rioting/looting like we are seeing in Minnesota. At the same time I wonder if my location is incredibly vulnerable to roving bands of bad actors should society really devolve. The way I see it, I live in a sprawling neighborhood of 60 homes (each on 1+ acres): we are so spread out and there are so few people that it would be really difficult to muster a group of 10 capable armed adults at a moment’s notice to encourage a roving band of bad actors to find somewhere else to be.

        At what point does it become a liability living beyond urban and suburban sprawl? How far off the beaten path do you have to live to be more-or-less “safe”?

        • “How far off the beaten path do you have to live to be more-or-less “safe”?”

          About an hour/80 miles, in my case.

        • If there is nothing left to steal, criminals have been known to drive 100 miles or more to find something to steal.
          It sounds like you live somewhere in Europe. I hope you have at least a shotgun in your home.
          It’s it legal to have a firearm inside your home? Or is it only stored at a hunting club?

        • Chris T in KY,

          Fortunately, I live in the United States in a state that is more-or-less friendly to firearm ownership, possession, and use. I have multiple firearms and would face minimal legal risk for using them to defend myself and my family.

          My concern about my location is that it is on the rural side of the spectrum, with small pockets of homes spread out amidst farms and undeveloped land which could seem inviting to urban hordes seeking out food. Obviously, the farms still have food. Many of the homes have gardens and food as well. And then there are the undeveloped chunks of land which have small game and deer.

          When you combine the fact that we have substantial resources and very few people to defend those resources, I have to wonder if bad actors will view our area as an attractive location to pillage and plunder.

        • I have a similar situation, slightly smaller town, slightly larger plots.

          The answer to your question is that if shit really does hit the fan it won’t matter much how far out you are. It changes the dates a bit but not the outcome unless you get lucky and are overlooked. With a long enough timeline, “overlooked” is a pipe dream.

          A number of people in rural Zimbabwe told me how they figured being 100km+, sometimes 100miles+, out in the country they felt safe. Right up until they weren’t.

        • Uncommom………

          Your rural area probably is only served by two or three main access roads.

          If it comes down to it, barricades and A few snipers set up on the access roads A few miles before town should be a force multiplier To deter roving bands of a$$holes.

          Draw a wide circle and Own the high ground and the trees.

        • John Galt,

          Unfortunately, I live in the middle of a giant, fairly flat area with a grid of roads every one or two miles. Many of those roads are dirt roads which doesn’t matter to a roving band of scavengers. There is no way to lock down the area in general.

          While there are only two roads into my neighborhood, there are fairly flat yards which someone could simply drive across to access our neighborhood if we had check points at the two entrances.

          If a large group of armed scavengers choose our neighborhood, it will be dicey.

        • This is an area that would be interesting to study but I doubt anyone is handing out grants to see how far “urban protesters” spread out during a period of civil disturbance.

          My guess based on modern cases (i.e. Baltimore) is that people fixin’ to break stuff don’t all get in cars and drive an hour away to do it in a nicer area unless it has a connection to the event. So if you’re out of walking range and public transit I don’t think I would worry about rioting gangs sweeping into the neighborhood when they have stuff to break and loot closer. They tend to stick close to home base. Unless we get into a complete breakdown of civil order in a given region… which would be a different situation than we’re used to.

          When I worked in an area that would occasionally have dicey crowds we also kept an eye on cardinal directions because there was a slight slope in one direction; perhaps it was a myth but the thought was that crowds would tend to slowly ‘roll’ down like a viscous fluid.

      • This is where Possum has all the advantages. Hard-to-find underground burrows, multiple exits, lots of guns.

    • I live in Allentown, PA, a city of about 105k people spread over a wide geographic area. My neighborhood looks like suburbia, but with houses that are 50-100 years old, streets lined with old trees. Only about 2 miles walk to some of the rough areas of town.

      I’ve often wondered what I would do if a mob of angry folk flooded down the street and started to menace my home or a neighbor’s home. I have a sufficient cache of weapons and ammo, but I am the only one in my home who can use them.

      Call the police and pray? Of course.
      Have my wife and daughter start recording the events? Of course.
      Let the mob know, somehow, that I am armed and will defend my family? Of course.
      Hold steady If they throw rocks, bottles to break my windows. Probably.
      Hold steady if they wreck my car? Probably.
      Shoot if they try to break in? Of course.

      That is a scenario where a lot can go wrong in just a very few moments.

    • Civilization has always been a thin veneer covering barbarism. That is something faux Libertarians fail to grasp. Underneath the thin layer of Locke lies Hobbes.

        • Libertarians don’t about the 2nd Amendment. They want an end of civil society and a rapid return to the State of Nature.

  14. Yeah, like that’s the way to celebrate the memory of George Floyd. More like “Somebody died? Free TVs!”

    • Arresting people for filming the police is common in Democrat cities. John Stossel did a report about it several years ago.

  15. I am so relieved: now we will have National Guard troops, in addition to local and state police, doing nothing — watching rioters and looters trash Minneapolis and St. Paul.

    The comfort of knowing that additional government employees will be standing by and doing nothing while the city burns is beyond words.

    (In case you are really dense or have not yet had your morning caffeine, my above comment was sarcasm.)

    • I guess you missed the part where the National Guard stood around while the buildings were set on fire. I guess you missed the part where people yelled in their face and some soldiers got scared. You must have not heard the National Guardsman say they are there to protect fire fighters who are trying to put out the flames.

    • “Sending in the national guard” sounds a lot more useful than it is. They’re not all hardened warriors. Unless you want them shooting people- which you don’t (Kent State?) they’re just warm bodies in uniform to hopefully deter people away from an area.

        • I know the details of Kent State very well and have no idea who you are referring to having “thought” for me.

          The situation, though not as simple as it may be sometimes portrayed, was exactly why you don’t want the national guard trying to deal with rioters unless you are willing to see casualties. They are not trained or suited to the role.

  16. NBC and their subsidiaries really are the worst offenders when it comes to fake news and spreading propaganda.

  17. All those supporting the Anti-2A movement, had better be paying close attention to what is taking place. The tipping point between good and evil, balances on a very fine line. Sadly the evil has no boundaries, and the good seems to have it’s hands tied by our broken justice system. As a result, the evil runs unbridled, destroying a lifetime in a matter of moments.

  18. Why isn’t anyone mentioning the fact that the president of the United States is willing to use our own military to shoot Americans? This is dangerous for more reasons than just the riots. This is called precedent. I don’t believe in the riots. Only peaceful protest. But shooting Americans is not something for the US military. This is bad all around.

    • John:
      Trump is NOT setting a precedent. “They” shot looters as far back as the aftermath of the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 and probably during other disasters before that.

        • Yes, we are. We should be more civilized than to loot. If it takes being shot to learn that lesson, so be it.

        • I didn’t ask he he deployed them.

          Was Nixon writing “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” as he send military units in to American cities?

  19. Are we cool with Trump saying he’s going to send in the military? Assume control? This is not a good thing people.

    • It’s getting really bad there. Police are losing control. No other choice. NG has specific missions when they stroll into town usually. This sounds like they will actually help out EMS and scare the locals a bit. The cause for this is out the window now. This is full scale Ferguson all over again.

      • All they have to do is arrest the murderers and allow people to defend their property with guns. It’s not hard, people. When you get government involved it gets political, thus nonsensical.

  20. Let it burn. Mr. Floyd would be alive if he just stopped committing crimes. He has a long and violent history. Has there been a autopsy? What was the actual cause of death. That’s a reason to riot and loot? Why does this not happen in white communities? . In every large community of people of color, this happens. Why would anyone who wants a decent, hardworking enjoyable life live in any of these democratic run states or metro areas. So I say, let it burn. When the stores are not rebuilt and there are no grocery stores or department stores willing to move to those type of cities and neighborhoods, Let those residents whine and cry, they got what they deserve.

    • I understand you smoked a J before it was legal. I guess that makes you fair game to be murdered by the cops, eh?

      • Wrong, never used an illegal drug, even now that marijuana is legal I still will never touch it, Why? because I have never met a MJ user who actually had a good life, you know, dead brain cells etc. I live in the real world where adults take responsibility for their lives.

        • It didn’t look like sarcasm to me. So-called sarcasm on a printed page can be difficult to detect. No facial expressions and no tone of voice to tip the reader off. I wish you guys would can the “sarcasm.”

    • Floyd was arrested based on the probable cause that he passed a counterfeit note (a $20). I cannot tell you the number of times I have been called to a business, found the person who passed a fake note, and then discovered through investigation that it was very unlikely that they knew it was fake at the time.

      In other words: it’s possible to be arrested of something even if you are not guilty. Cops aren’t psychic so it’s just how things go.

      Consider that someday you may get mistaken for a guy who knocked over a convenience store three blocks over because you happen to match the description. One hopes you get an officer who is more cool-headed, right?

  21. HowTF does a LE precinct get taken over and burnt to the ground…???
    WhereTF are the LEO’s…???
    OH Yeah, they’re out “protecting and serving” the shit outta people…What an effin’ joke…
    Start dropping bodies in the street, and this shit will cease post haste…

    • Some of the protesters had ARs ready to go with drum mags. I don’t think shooting people in the streets to protect murderous cops is going to sit well with millennial veterans, especially black former military men. We saw what happened in Dallas, Louisiana and Los Angeles. Even the National Guard was scared to be in that fragile situation last night.

      • WHERE just WHERETF did I say ANYTHING about PROTECTING anyone…??? You’re just and asshole, plain and simple, you take peoples comments, twist them, omit certain items, add your own just to make YOUR narrative…GFY puke troll…

        “chief censor”, more like chief candy ass troll…

        • It sounded like you want them to protect the police departments that killed George Floyd, Justine Ruszczyk Damond and Philando Castile.

        • Difference of opinion = troll, ok sure. Because living in an echo chamber is so enlightening.

  22. Barak the Muslim, Joe the pedophile, and Beto the gun czar must secretly being smiling to themselves. This is exactly what they wanted in order to secure the election of Joe Biden in November. With the newest wave of protests across the country the Democrats will soar to new heights in the polls and in their respective voting blocs. It’s a sad state of affairs when the liberals will stop at nothing to get their “man” elected. I don’t think Trump has a chance in November. This country will go completely socialist in 4 years.

    • I’m sure they’ll try to frame it as such, but the president has nothing to do with some ahole cop that thinks it’s okay to pin his knee against someone’s neck like that. If that’s the narrative, then I suppose the incidents that happened previously were Obama’s fault. Then again, they understand that democrat voters don’t exactly excel at critical thinking.

    • how in the hell does this hurt Trump’s chances in November? he had nothing to do with it, and his response to call in the NG when the mayor and governor can’t or won’t handle it, is perfectly logical and reasonable. HOW ???? can anybody find fault with that????

      Trump didn’t cause the situation. it was the responsibility of the local and state governments to make policies to prevent this, and if it happens deal with it. they failed. ?????? what does it have to do with Trump?

      let us countthe ways it doesn’t:

      Trump made Minneapolis have lax crime laws? penalties? let criminals out of jail early?

      Trump made their PD so incompetent that they have a reputation for shooting people for little or no reason, like that white woman in pajamas the other year?

      Trump made their PD hire incompetent or just plain psycho cops, like one that chokes a suspect to death with his knee while sneering, in ful view of the public, or the otherthree that refused to do anythnig and even keep people away? how many more of those are on the PD?

      Trump made them hire a fire chief so incompetent he didn’t know the rest of the city was on fire too when the was trying to put out one fire?

      Trump made them elect a mayor so incompetent he had no clue what to do about all this and still didn’t at the time of the news conference?

      wtf did Trump do? what????

      oh I get it, prog/lib/lefty/democrat/soros shills making propaganda. can’t be any other reason because it’s to goddamn stupid to be taken any other way.

      because the prog/lib/lefty/democrat/soros shill wants to fool people into voting for more of this?!?!?!?!

      begone, propagandist shill!

  23. Calling out the National Guard is rarely a good idea. Guardsmen are not prepared for this. They have two choices — stand around in a cordon or start shooting. Neither one is acceptable, and either way they are being positioned by the political leadership as scapegoats.

    Let the politicians and cops clean up their own mess.

  24. True that relying on the National Guard is the wrong thing to do. Just consider that it becomes unavoidable due to the leadership failures of elected and appointed officials at all levels. From the local police commanders all the way to the Governor of a state, they are the chain of responsible persons who failed to act.

    By the time the State’s call for the National Guard to intervene, it is a already a massive failure they are sent to contain. This is not their fault and creates both opportunities to force a quieting on the situation as well as additional blood soaked tragedy. It can go either way.

    After all their other failures, the next one was the Governor’s failure to anticipate and deploy the troops the very first night. It is not arm chair quarterbacking or the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. The reaction was predictable. Not having them standing by, ready to roll into the city on a moment’s notice, was another failure of political leadership.

    On another angle it is a pity there have not been a multitude of armed civilians on the roofs of their businesses, defending their livelihoods and property. As has been seen before that display of citizen armed readiness has often caused rioters and looters to go elsewhere. All without the citizens ever firing a shot.

    • “it is a pity there have not been a multitude of armed civilians on the roofs of their businesses, defending their livelihoods and property.”

      Too true. Then again, who would actually defend Target? The most left wing company (outside of the media) can burn to the ground as far as I’m concerned.

      • True, I do get that. National chains will not draw much sympathy. Even so it should be remembered that it is the hourly workers who live nearby that suffer the most. The looting or burning of a store is, to a national chain, an easily survivable financial loss. For their employees in that city it is much more serious.

        The worst hit are the destroyed small businesses. The local shops and restaurants looted, busted up or burned. They are least able to absorb the cost of rebuilding. Many may have no choice but to walk away.

  25. Let it burn, and screw rebuilding.
    Any sympathy they had on day one is long gone.
    Looters and rioters should be shot and left in the streets.
    Act like rabid animals, get treated like rabid animals.

  26. Why did the chief of police allow this to happen…It all starts & ends at the Top, he should be fired as well!
    In fact just fire the whole dept & let them do as they please……Oh wait! Feeling the Burn yet……Another liberal city “up in smoke” (no offense Cheech & chong)

  27. Trump threatening with the NG? I thought that would only be possible if that state’s NG was federalized *after* the MN gov activated them…?

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here