In the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in May 2020 after he was subdued by police, Black Lives Matter agitators, joined by the radical far-left group Antifa, took to the streets in what would be a summer of pure rage.
In Democrat-run cities like Minneapolis and Los Angeles, there were widespread riots and looting. Minneapolis in particular, which is where the incident between Floyd and the police occurred, looked like a war-torn country, with entire city blocks destroyed by the fires that were intentionally set, with all that was left being the smoldering remains of what once was.
In the roughly two-week period between May 26 and June 8, “the arson, vandalism and looting” that occurred resulted “in at least $1 billion to $2 billion of paid insurance claims,” according to a report from the Axios news outlet at the time, which took their data from the Property Claim Services company.
The protests went on much longer than that, with demonstrators in some cities actually setting up “occupied” territories that spanned city blocks complete with encampments, setting up their own systems of “justice.” In some, like Seattle, violent crimes like murder and sexual assault reportedly occurred.
Federal courthouses were also targeted with Molotov cocktails, as we saw in Portland, Oregon.
As all of this was going down, the media and powerful Democrats were on record as making excuses for them and downplaying their destructive actions, with the operative phrase for many of them being “peaceful protesters” whenever they talked about the rioters.
Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), for instance, shrugged and said, “People will do what they do” when asked about protesters tearing down statues.
Congressional Democrats also repeatedly refused to sign on to statements and resolutions condemning mob violence.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) has been on the frontlines of encouraging aggressive action that borderlines on violence.
Waters, for instance, told Black Lives Matter activists in 2021, “We’ve got to stay in the streets. We’ve got to get more confrontational. We got to make sure they know that we mean business.”
She also urged people to “fight in the streets” after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
That same month, a man was arrested for an assassination attempt on conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, one of the justices who voted to overturn the 1973 abortion ruling.
Emboldened, the tactics of left-wing agitators have gotten even more aggressive over the last several years, as we’ve seen during the anti-Israel protests and climate change protests.
Just last week, demonstrators in cities like San Francisco used concrete-filled barrels to strap themselves together and block traffic on major roadways and bridges including the Golden Gate Bridge, potentially preventing emergency vehicles from getting through.
Antisemitic chants were also yelled during an ongoing anti-Israel protest at Columbia University, with some expressing support for the terrorist group Hamas.
“Hamas, we love you. We support your rockets too!” was among the chants heard.
Elsewhere, violence erupted after radical climate change activists stormed the stage during an event honoring Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
Democrats have spent a lot of time since Donald Trump’s 2016 election warning about “right-wing violence” and painting anyone who opposes them as a “radical extremist.” But they often turn a blind eye to it when it comes from their side, which happens far more often than we’ve been led to believe by the mainstream media.
Here’s an idea: Instead of gaslighting and equivocating, why not call this stuff out in no uncertain terms and support the book being thrown at the people causing all the problems? I know, that would be too easy, right? Not to mention how many false narratives coming from the left/media it would knock down in the process.
North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection
