Former U.S. Ambassador Ken Blackwell says voters must hold their leaders responsible for unrest and violence that has left hundreds of stores smashed, looted, and burned in major American cities.
In recent weeks, violent riots have ravaged cities across the United States and sympathetic local officials have stepped back as activists have taken over city blocks. As homicides have spiked, some officials have attempted to use the pandemic to cover up for years of high murder rates.
“It’s time that these local communities make folks pay for an absence of leadership. They must change leadership. They must say enough is enough,” Blackwell told The Daily Wire. Blackwell has a decades-long record of public service, including as the ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council and as Mayor of Cincinnati from 1979-80.
Protests swept the country in May after George Floyd, a black man, died in police custody on Memorial Day. Cell phone video of the incident showed a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. The officer’s conduct was widely condemned by police groups and public safety experts, and the officer himself has been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Black Lives Matter activists and some public officials led calls to “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/12/opinion/sunday/floyd-abolish-defund-police.html">abolish</a>” police departments. In Minneapolis, the city council <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/minneapolis-city-council-advances-plan-to-abolish-police-department-11593188831">voted</a> to remove the city’s police to help undo “longstanding systemic oppression, racial oppression,” according to councilman Jeremiah Ellison.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, both Democrats, approved significant cuts to their cities’ respective police departments. The extra funding, they said, will be diverted to social programs targeting minority communities.
Accusations of systemic racism allow local officials to claim they care about black communities while ignoring the real threat to black people: communities left vulnerable by a lack of law enforcement and prosecutions against criminal behavior, according to Blackwell.
“Every single one of these cities have been run by Democrats, in some cases as long as 40 years. And the reality is when you look at the numbers, most of these black Americans that are being slaughtered have been killed by other men and women of color,” Blackwell said. “The second that a black man dies in police custody, left-leaning actors and politicians begin calling for sweeping reforms to combat the boogeyman of racial inequality and systemic racism, even when they know perfectly well that the deaths don’t reflect that.”
“I really think we have to shine a spotlight on the reality in these major cities that if black lives really matter to the left and to Black Lives Matter incorporated, they should be leading peaceful protests demanding that these folks at the local and state level do their jobs,” Blackwell continued.
As riots ripped through Minneapolis, Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey ordered police officers to abandon one of the cities precincts. Arsonists took over the building and burned it to the ground along with numerous other structures. Preliminary estimates <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-government-denies-disaster-aid-for-minneapolis-riots-11594513653">say</a> that fires caused $15 million in damage.
In Seattle, Mayor Jenny Durkin allowed activists to take over six city blocks for over a month as they demonstrated for sweeping reforms. Durkin removed police from the area and allowed vandalism and crime to run rampant. She eventually ordered police to take back over the area after a bloody weekend when several people, including a 17-year-old boy, were killed.
“If you just go back to the last 90 days and the rash of acts of domestic terrorism and criminality that visited many of these cities, I mean people saw their livelihoods go up in flames. Others were afraid to leave their homes, and many who depend on public transportation no longer have a community pharmacy or a convenience store for these essentials like food and medicine,” Blackwell said.
“This disruption was caused by folks, not protesting the wrongful death of George Floyd, but these were professional disrupters and anarchists committed to this notion of fundamentally transforming America. And they don’t do it based on numbers or any discernable pattern of systemic racism,” Blackwell continued.
Blackwell says that voters must punish local and state officials that have failed to protect the citizens and communities they govern. The best way to heal black communities and others in the wake of rampant violence is to change the combative attitude toward police that is being pushed by leaders in cities such as Atlanta, St. Louis, and Chicago.
“I am fond of saying that capital is for cowards. People don’t invest capital in unsafe environments, and so in order to turn these communities around economically, we must in fact make sure that we convert them from killing fields to fields of opportunity, to fields of dreams,” Blackwell said.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Protesters Demonstrate In D.C.

‘Enough Is Enough’: Former Mayor Says Local Officials Should ‘Pay’ For Disappearing During Riots

George Floyd

Riots

Why are we afraid?
In this moment where the world around us has ruptured, or in which already present fractures have rapidly widened, why have we who deal in reason and data allowed ourselves to be effectively silenced?
The simple answer to that question is that we are afraid – but of what exactly? To be called a “racist” or have it said that we are “complicit” in some unworthy system? Broadly, yes.
There are secondary and tertiary fears tangled up in this as well. Some are afraid that if they speak up, they will lose their jobs; others are fearful that if they were to express an out-of-cycle opinion, friends and family members would turn their backs.
These alternate terrors, however, are all extensions of the root fear of being seen as “racist” or “complicit” in a racist system – but what does that really mean, and why does this silencing feel different than previous attacks from which we emerged bruised but alive?
The difference is that the weapons we previously used to wage verbal war against absurd ideologies have been effectively neutralized. Data and reason have been replaced by “lived experience” and “personal truth.” Exchange of information has been supplanted by the brute force of emotions.
This system, one in which emotions are prime, has been developing for years; it has been nurtured by legacy media, progressive politicians, academia, and Hollywood. Despite intermittent pushback, this system has largely been left undisturbed, allowing it to reach maturity.
As a result, measured debate about any sociopolitical idea – a procedure that was once structured and nearly axiomatic – has been atomized, allowing for endless ideological shape-shifting. To offer up a counter argument in this new framework is like hurling a brick through fog.
To suggest that, according to the data, black bodies aren’t piling up in the streets, or that police aren’t hunting down black people en masse, is a not only a fruitless endeavor – as data and reason have been killed by the revolution – but something that could be used against you, to brand you as a “racist.”
The leaders of this new world have rendered our weapons ineffective, leaving us without a means to fight back or to scrub off the negative social branding that they paint on our skin in vibrant colors.
This is why we are afraid.
We stand on unfamiliar land, lacking appropriate weaponry, and the opposition has rapidly become a vaporous monolith against which a blade would be about as useful as a rubber ducky. Given this present reality, our only option seems to be a retreat to safety, which, in this case, means complete and deafening silence – in real life and across all social media platforms.
There is an unfortunate side effect of this retreat. As counter-opinions disappear, the revolution will perceive growth – in size and acceptance of cause. This dynamic will not only be apparent to the revolutionaries themselves, but also by those on the outside bearing witness to its apparent accomplishments.
The full retreat of reasoned people, as well as the subsequent growth-perception among the revolutionaries will have severe repercussions. We’ve already witnessed the beginnings of an effort to rearrange the strands of our history, and we need only look elsewhere in time to understand what might happen should this early-stage tinkering succeed.
Now that we more fully appreciate the nature of our fear, as well as the soil from which it sprang, we must return to the simple question, only one step more complex – why are we afraid to be thought of as “racist” or “complicit” in a racist system when reason and data tell us that such assertions are entirely untrue?
It’s a wholly perception-oriented phenomenon. We perceive that a majority of Americans are participating in this revolution, and because of that, we fear that a “racist” or “complicit” label will stick. Perhaps on a deeper level, we fear that such a label will, in effect, become true due to the seeming majority belief.
However, this perception is incorrect. Those seeking to undermine our system and the values undergirding it, those who would call “racist” anyone who disagrees with their orthodoxy, even by a hair, are in the minority – a minority that has of course been amplified by social media, legacy media, progressive politicians, academia, Hollywood, and the vociferousness of the movement’s participants.
As previously noted, a mass retreat by individuals of sound thinking will allow this movement, which has reached a state of maturation, to establish a foothold, which can and will be leveraged into extraordinary social power over time, even if according to raw numbers, the movement represents just a fraction of the American population.
So what can be done? If majority rules – perceived or real – we for whom reason and data matter must step out together from inside our hiding places, and push back. This cannot be accomplished by only a few brave individuals. It must be a rising done in concert with many others.
But how do we rise together? That is a question for which there is no concrete answer – though a suggestion comes to mind.
Being that we cannot all at once know if others will follow our lead, it will perhaps take a set of prominent figures who have little to no fear of reprisal to generate the momentum that will set off a larger counter-push.
We could be witnessing the start of such a thing with the recent open letter defending free expression published by Harper’s Magazine. This letter features the signatures of people like JK Rowling, Malcolm Gladwell, Margaret Atwood, Jonathan Haidt, Steven Pinker, and more than 140 others, almost all of whom wouldn’t be considered center-right by any means.
This counterpunch from left-leaning public figures could provide some form of cover behind which average Americans could get a running start.
Ultimately, the history of war cannot be pictured in full until well after the final fight has ended. The story of the woke revolution and those who will resist the fear of stinging labels is ongoing, and the outcome can still be changed – but action must be taken as soon as possible.
It might be that in this inestimable slice of time in which we still have the means to defend the truth, there is no other option but to set aside our terrors in order to act as a barrier between what we know to be good and the mob that seeks to tear it apart.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Burning police car

CAMP: Why Are We Afraid To Stand Up To The Woke Mob?

Leftism

statues

Woke

Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp on Monday authorized up to 1,000 National Guard troops to be deployed to Atlanta after the city&#8217;s mayor, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, failed to stop the escalating violence in her city.
&#8220;Peaceful protests were hijacked by criminals with a dangerous, destructive agenda. Now, innocent Georgians are being targeted, shot, and left for dead,&#8221; Kemp said in a statement. &#8220;This lawlessness must be stopped and order restored in our capital city. I have declared a State of Emergency and called up the Georgia Guard because the safety of our citizens comes first. This measure will allow troops to protect state property and dispatch state law enforcement officers to patrol our streets. Enough with the tough talk. We must protect the lives and livelihoods of all Georgians.&#8221;
Kemp&#8217;s statement said that the decision came after &#8220;weeks of dramatically increased violent crime and property destruction in the City of Atlanta&#8221; including the Fourth of July weekend where &#8220;over thirty Georgians wounded by gunfire, including five confirmed dead.&#8221;
&#8220;The Georgia Guard will provide support at state buildings, including the Georgia State Capitol, Georgia Department of Public Safety Headquarters, and Governor&#8217;s Mansion,&#8221; the statement said. &#8220;This aid will allow state law enforcement personnel to increase patrols on roadways and throughout communities, especially those in the City of Atlanta.&#8221;
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/kemp-deploy-000-national-guard-troops-after-violent-weekend/nuGXOOMNsj0zkkoO9GLNPL/">noted</a> that the order came after Kemp said he would take action if &#8220;Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms failed to do so, a move that highlighted the complicated, and increasingly tense, relationship between two of the state’s most prominent politicians.&#8221;
Kemp tweeted late on Sunday night: &#8220;This recent trend of lawlessness is outrageous &amp; unacceptable. Georgians, including those in uniform, need to be protected from crime &amp; violence. While we stand ready to assist local leaders in restoring peace &amp; maintaining order, we won’t hesitate to take action without them.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This recent trend of lawlessness is outrageous &amp; unacceptable. Georgians, including those in uniform, need to be protected from crime &amp; violence. While we stand ready to assist local leaders in restoring peace &amp; maintaining order, we won’t hesitate to take action without them. <a href="https://t.co/NTacEm4v7o">https://t.co/NTacEm4v7o</a>
&mdash; Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovKemp/status/1279966502989545472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The death of 8-year-old Secoriea Turner, who was killed on Saturday evening near the Wendy&#8217;s where Rayshard Brooks was killed last month, drew national attention over the weekend.
“Enough is enough. Enough is enough,” Bottoms <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/atlanta-mayor-on-death-of-8-year-old-girl-we-are-doing-each-other-more-harm-than-any-police-officer-on-this-force">said</a> during a press conference on Sunday. “We have talked about this movement that’s happening across America in this moment in time where we have the ears and the interest of people across this country and across this globe who were saying they want to see change. … We’re fighting the enemy within when we are shooting each other up on our streets in the city and you shot and killed a baby. And it wasn’t one shooter, there were at least two shooters. An 8-year-old baby. If you want people to take us seriously, and you don’t want us to lose this movement, then we can’t lose each other.”
“You can’t blame this on a police officer, you can’t say this is about criminal justice reform. This is about some people carrying some weapons who shot up a car with an eight-year-old baby in the car,” Bottoms added. “We got to stop this. We are doing each other more harm than any police officer on this force. We’ve had over 75 shootings in the city over the past several weeks. You can’t blame that on APD. So, I’m just asking you to please honor this baby’s life. Please, if you know who did this, please turn them in. These people are a danger to all of us.”
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers with the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe"> member</a>.

Governor Kemp Holds &#8216;Wear A Mask&#8217; Tour As Covid-19 Cases In Georgia Spike

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp To Deploy 1,000 National Guard Troops To Atlanta After Democrat Mayor Keisha Bottoms Fails To Stop Violence

Atlanta

Brian Kemp

Georgia

National Guard

Violence

Ongoing demonstrations in Portland, Oregon, which have occasionally devolved into violence, exploded into all-out riots on July 4th, as protesters targeted police headquarters, jails, and a federal courthouse.
Nearly a dozen people were arrested Saturday as unrest in the city entered its 38th day, Portland police said. Federal agents arrested at least one person who will likely be charged with trying to destroy a federal building.
Portland police officially declared the situation a &#8220;riot&#8221; around 11 pm Saturday night, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/portland-police-declare-riot-again-as-city-sees-38th-straight-day-of-unrest">according to Fox News</a>, and were unable to quell the unrest. Per the department&#8217;s official social media accounts, Portland police were so consumed with containing the destruction that they were unable to respond to anything other than emergency calls.
&#8220;PPB is handling emergency calls only City-wide at this time,&#8221; the department tweeted around 11 pm local time. &#8220;Many calls for police service are holding in each precinct. We want the crowd downtown to disperse so we can assist community members who need our assistance.&#8221;
Police moved against the gathering crowd around 10 pm Saturday night, just as a throng of demonstrators began firing projectiles and fireworks at the federal courthouse towards the center of Portland, where crowds have been gathering for over a month to protest police brutality.
&#8220;Shortly after 9 p.m., a crowd of hundreds began congregating on Main Street around the elk fountain. By 9:30, people set off fireworks and burned American flags while speakers addressed the crowd and spoke about colonialism, racism, and police brutality,&#8221; <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/07/black-lives-matter-protests-taking-place-in-portland-salem-on-the-fourth-of-july.html">Oregon Live reported</a>.
&#8220;At 10:35 p.m., police announced orders for protesters to stop directing fireworks at the Justice Center,&#8221; the outlet continued. &#8220;A short time later, police appeared to set off devices that deployed smoke. Around 11 p.m., police again warned protesters not “to engage with the federal courthouse” and warned them they would be subject to arrest and use of force if they continued.&#8221;
Social media users were able to capture some of the incidents live, and Portland police posted a number of the videos to their social media accounts to show the extent of the damage. In one video, officers themselves are targeted with fireworks, one of which explodes just inches from a media officer on duty.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This is some of the video taken by an Officer who was embedded with a Rapid Response Team tonight. The Officer sustained injury from a mortar that exploded near her feet while she was recording. <a href="https://t.co/S4JvlXioZc">pic.twitter.com/S4JvlXioZc</a>
&mdash; Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/PortlandPolice/status/1279734676697935872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;As officers dispersed the crowd, demonstrators threw bricks, mortars, M-80s, and other flammables towards them. To defend themselves from serious injury, officers used crowd-control munitions and tear gas at this time. Lasers were directed at Officer&#8217;s eyes, which is unlawful,&#8221; the Portland police department said in a statement. &#8220;Despite having moved from the closed area, demonstrators began to trickle back to Southwest 3rd Avenue, starting a large bonfire in the middle of Southwest 3rd Avenue and Southwest Main Street 1 a.m.&#8221;
Journalist Andy Ngo was able to capture video of the riots as well. His material clearly depicts protesters targeting both the Federal building and local Portland law enforcement.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Rioting in downtown Portland by antifa continues. Federal police used CS gas to clear the violent militants from further attacking the courthouse. Now Portland Police are dispersing them further out as they continue to break business windows and riot. <a href="https://t.co/Ra3gIoyeVc">pic.twitter.com/Ra3gIoyeVc</a>
&mdash; Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1279672268302344194?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Rioting in downtown Portland by antifa. They came fully equipped with shields and explosive fireworks. Federal police (not <a href="https://twitter.com/PortlandPolice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PortlandPolice</a>) have used CS gas to forcibly disperse them. It’s working and antifa hate it. <a href="https://t.co/MA8f3BRLzO">pic.twitter.com/MA8f3BRLzO</a>
&mdash; Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1279663556657418240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Ultimately, the police stood down.
Much of downtown Portland remains closed and transportation is not running within select borders inside the city.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers with the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe"> member</a>.

Protest in Portland

Riots Explode In Portland Overnight, Protesters Target Police Headquarters, Jails, Courthouse

Portland

A Florida sheriff says he will deputize legal gun owners to “to stand in the gap between lawlessness and civility” if violent rioters come to his county.
Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels released a video statement on Tuesday warning that the scenes of violent riots, burning shops and police cars, and toppled statues would not be replicated in Clay County. Daniels said that he and his deputies would defend activists’ right to protest but warned demonstrators against stepping “out from under the protection of the Constitution” to harm the community.
“We’ll be waiting on you and we’ll give you everything you want. All the publicity, all the pain, all the glamour, and glory, for all that five minutes will give you,” Daniels said while standing in front of a line of his deputies. “Is it a threat? Absolutely not, but somebody has to step up in front of the camera and say enough is enough. Tearing up Clay County? That’s not going to be acceptable.”
“If we can’t handle you, you know what I’ll do? I will exercise the power and authority as a sheriff and I will make special deputies of every lawful gun owner in this county, and I’ll deputize them for this one purpose: to stand in the gap between lawlessness and civility. That’s what we’re sworn to do, and that’s what we’re going to do. You’ve been warned,” Daniels concluded.
The sheriff also criticized the media and Black Lives Matter for “making themselves a spectacle” and pushing a divisive and disruptive message that lacks &#8220;God.&#8221;
George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody on May 25 sparked protests against police brutality and perceived systemic racism among police departments across the country, many of which ultimately became riots.
The protests reignited a debate over the place of Confederate monuments and symbols on public property. Rioters have taken advantage of anger against Confederate symbols to justify vandalism and destruction against a wide array of public monuments including those to Founding Fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, Catholic St. Junipero Serra, and Union general and former President Ulysses S. Grant.
In cities such as Seattle, Washington, D.C., and New York City, activists have set up protest zones meant to bar law enforcement from certain areas. In Seattle, city officials left the “Capitol Hill Occupied Protest” zone in place for weeks until the area suffered a string of fatal shootings.
<iframe title="Sheriff Daniels speaks on who we are as a people" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/25-10yKyKuI?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Read Daniels’ remarks in full:
<blockquote>Hey, folks. Me and the men and women of the Clay County Sheriff’s Office just want to weigh in on what we are seeing going on played out across the media, or mainstream media in this country. Look, folks. Don’t fall victim to subjecting yourself to this conversation that law enforcement is bad, that law enforcement is the enemy of the citizens that we are sworn to protect and serve. We swore and oath, and in that oath we swore to support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States and the government, and that we are duly qualified under the state’s constitution to hold office. That is for me as a sheriff and for these men and women as deputy sheriffs, and we end that with “so help me, God.” But God is absent from the media’s message or Black Lives Matter or any other group out there that’s making themselves a spectacle, disrupting what we know to be our quality of life in this country. In Clay County, we know we have a great quality of life. We have a great relationship with out community. But across this country, not so much. I just wanted to take a stand with these men and with these women who feel the same way that I do. Lawlessness, that’s unacceptable in this country. Lawlessness, that’s unacceptable in Clay County, and if you threaten to come to Clay County and think that for one second that we’ll bend our backs for you, you’re sadly mistaken. I know what happens when lawlessness prevails. And in this day and time, God is raising up men and women just like the folks you see standing behind me who will have strong backbones and will stand in the gap between lawlessness and the good citizenry that we are sworn to protect and serve. So you can threaten all you want. You can say, ‘Hey, let’s go to Clay County’ or let’s go to some other peaceful county where their problems don’t exist or not so much like across this country, where relationships are great and not strained, and where the people support their sheriff and support the men and women who wear the uniform, and you’ll have something waiting on you that you don’t want. Yes, we’ll protect your constitutional rights as long as you remain under the umbrella of peaceful protest or peaceful march, but the second that you step out from under the protection of the Constitution, we’ll be waiting on you and we’ll give you everything you want. All the publicity, all the pain, all the glamour and glory, for all that five minutes will give you. Is it a threat? Absolutely not, but somebody has to step up in front of the camera and say enough is enough. Tearing up Clay County? That’s not going to be acceptable. And if we can’t handle you, you know what I’ll do? I will exercise the power and authority as a sheriff and I will make special deputies of every lawful gun owner in this county, and I’ll deputize them for this one purpose: to stand in the gap between lawlessness and civility. That’s what we’re sworn to do, and that’s what we’re going to do. You’ve been warned.</blockquote>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Capitol Hill Organized Protest

Florida Sheriff Says He’ll ‘Deputize Every Lawful Gun Owner In The County’ To Control Violent Protests

Florida

Guns

Rioters in Portland, Oregon, destroyed the historic 120-year-old &#8220;Thompson Elk Fountain&#8221; on Wednesday night near a federal courthouse.
The rioters &#8220;ripped off wood boards protecting the building&#8217;s windows to use for firewood and barricades,&#8221; Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/protesters-light-fire-outside-portland-courthouse-1-night-after-police-declared-riot">reported</a>. &#8220;Protesters threw water bottles and other projectiles as police fired pepper balls and at least one flash-bang at protesters in front of the courthouse.&#8221;
Reporter Andy Ngo tweeted out a video of the statue burning, writing: &#8220;The elk statue in downtown Portland is now fully engulfed in flames.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The elk statue in downtown Portland is now fully engulfed in flames. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/antifa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#antifa</a> <a href="https://t.co/EdqOnJCdSP">pic.twitter.com/EdqOnJCdSP</a>
&mdash; Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1278592095222067201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Political commentators online ridiculed the rioters for destroying the statue, noting that it had nothing to do with the racial injustices that they claim are the focus of their &#8220;protests.&#8221;
&#8220;Good,&#8221; commentator Stephen Miller <a href="https://twitter.com/redsteeze/status/1278643562670780418">quipped</a>. &#8220;Racist elk had it coming.&#8221;
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton <a href="https://twitter.com/TomFitton/status/1278658434544676867">wrote</a>: &#8220;The communist revolution will burn anything and everything.&#8221;
Australian political commentator Rita Panahi <a href="https://twitter.com/RitaPanahi/status/1278655978087395328">added</a>, &#8220;Umm obviously because the elk is steeped in white supremacist symbolism and, umm I got nothing.&#8221;
The Oregonian, a local newspaper, <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/O/2011/11/the_thompson_elk_after_111_yea.html">wrote</a> about the history of the then-111-year-old statue in 2011, which was named after David P. Thompson, who came to Oregon when he was 19-years-old in 1853:
<blockquote>Having worked as a surveyor in Ohio, he was hired to survey the railroad route around Willamette Falls, then spent 20 years in that profession. Along the way came opportunities in mining, railroads, banking and manufacturing, and a substantial fortune.
Active in politics, he served at various times in the Oregon Legislature as both a Democrat and Republican, as governor of Idaho Territory (1875-76), Portland mayor (1881-1885) and U.S. minister to the Ottoman Empire (1892-93).
In June 1899, from his office in the New Market Theater Block (which he owned) at First and Ankeny streets, Thompson, as president of the Oregon Humane Society, wrote to the mayor and City Council:
&#8220;From my office window I have an opportunity see the great benefit the Skidmore Fountain is to Portland by furnishing water for the dumb animals and birds to quench their thirst, as well as the great number of human beings who drink of the pure water which flows from this fountain.&#8221;
He went on to chastise wealthy Portlanders for not emulating druggist Stephen Skidmore&#8217;s $5,000 bequest.
In that spirit, Thompson said, he would &#8220;construct a fountain in the street between the two Plaza blocks in front of the county courthouse&#8221; to serve the same purpose as the Skidmore. &#8220;This work to be completed on or before July 4, A.D. 1900. The inscription on it to be &#8216;Presented to the City of Portland by David P. Thompson, A.D. 1900,'&#8221; the letter specified. Final cost: $20,000.</blockquote>
Rioters in Portland vandalized the courthouse with graffiti, <a href="https://twitter.com/Shauna_Sowersby/status/1278598763276193792">writing</a> the &#8220;f-word&#8221; repeatedly and &#8220;Stolen Land.&#8221;
The rioters also burned an American flag.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Protesters burned the flag outside the jail <a href="https://twitter.com/KEZI9?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KEZI9</a> <a href="https://t.co/CEdfCok05H">pic.twitter.com/CEdfCok05H</a>
&mdash; Connor McCarthy (@conr_mccarthy) <a href="https://twitter.com/conr_mccarthy/status/1278571145105555456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The fire is getting bigger and Portland police at the Justice Center have started to notice. Demonstrators are handing out earplugs. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/portlandprotest?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#portlandprotest</a> <a href="https://t.co/gQ25VroZiS">pic.twitter.com/gQ25VroZiS</a>
&mdash; Shauna Sowersby (@Shauna_Sowersby) <a href="https://twitter.com/Shauna_Sowersby/status/1278576904006590464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers with the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe"> member</a>.

Bull elk in grass meadow

Rioters Destroy Historic 120-Year-Old ‘Elk Fountain’ Statue In Portland

American History

Antifa

Fringe activists set up a guillotine in front of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos&#8217;s home in Washington, D.C., on Sunday where they reportedly demanded that Amazon be abolished.
One of the demonstrators said on a bullhorn in front of Bezos&#8217;s home, &#8220;it is still exploitation and when they become threatened, and we have no voice, the knives come out.&#8221;
The guillotine that was set up in front of Bezos&#8217;s home had a sign in front of it that stated, &#8220;Support our poor communities not our wealthy men.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
DC protester says: “when they become threatened, and we have no voice, the knives come out.” In front of a guillotine set up in front of Jeff Bezos complex in DC <a href="https://t.co/synjRwgD1H">pic.twitter.com/synjRwgD1H</a>
&mdash; Drew Hernandez (@livesmattershow) <a href="https://twitter.com/livesmattershow/status/1277377005798002688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
DC protesters have set up a “guillotine” in protest of Jeff Bezos in front of his complex in DC <a href="https://t.co/VZ0AWTJqaV">pic.twitter.com/VZ0AWTJqaV</a>
&mdash; Drew Hernandez (@livesmattershow) <a href="https://twitter.com/livesmattershow/status/1277372511227973632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The event appears to have been held by a group called &#8220;Abolish The Present Reconstruct Our Future.&#8221;
A flyer from the organization for the event stated:
<blockquote>Amazon works directly with police to surveil us, stoking racist fears in the name of profit. Doubling down on their union busting and mistreatment of workers, Amazon fired and racially slandered labor organizer Chris Smalls. Join us to tell Bezos enough is enough!
END THE ABUSE AND PROFITEERING. ABOLISH THE POLICE, THE PRISONS, AND AMAZON.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
It&#39;s an uprising, and we&#39;re taking it to our neighbor <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffBezos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JeffBezos</a>&#39; house <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/dcprotest?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#dcprotest</a> <a href="https://t.co/D70BWwZ3o8">pic.twitter.com/D70BWwZ3o8</a>
&mdash; abolish the present / reconstruct our future (@AbolishTheNow) <a href="https://twitter.com/AbolishTheNow/status/1276966951739408385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The event comes as demonstrators have increasingly targeted residential neighborhoods to conduct their events, especially wealthy neighborhoods.
Over the weekend, Black Lives Matter demonstrators <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/black-lives-matter-group-storms-beverley-hills-residential-area-eat-the-rich-abolish-capitalism-now">marched</a> through a residential area in Beverly Hills, chanting &#8220;Eat the rich!&#8221; and &#8220;Abolish capitalism now!&#8221; Eventually law enforcement officials intervened and arrested those participating in the unlawful demonstration.
On Sunday, demonstrators in St. Louis, Missouri, attempted to march through a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-armed-st-louis-residents-stand-guard-over-property-as-demonstrators-enter-residential-neighborhood">private gated community</a> but were met by heavily armed home owners who guarded their property.
Protests and riots have broken out across the U.S. in response to the death of George Floyd. The rioting has resulted in looting, attacks on law enforcement officials, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-rioters-vandalize-church-near-white-house-that-was-previously-set-on-fire">vandalism of churches</a>, and the destruction of statues and monuments.
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-trump-signs-executive-order-protecting-monuments-barr-creates-task-force-to-tackle-extremists-includes-antifa">reported</a> late last week, rioters &#8220;have destroyed statues of former Presidents <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-rioters-burn-american-flag-on-fire-on-top-of-george-washington-statue-tear-it-down">George Washington</a>, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/portland-protesters-tear-down-racist-statue-thomas-jefferson">Thomas Jefferson</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rioters-in-california-tear-down-statue-of-ulysses-s-grant-he-defeated-the-confederacy-devastated-kkk">Ulysses S. Grant</a>, and attempted to destroy the statue of former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-rioters-near-white-house-try-to-tear-down-presidential-statue-set-up-black-house-autonomous-zone">Andrew Jackson</a> before being stopped by law enforcement.&#8221;
<blockquote>Statues of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-rioters-tear-down-statue-of-francis-scott-key-he-wrote-the-star-spangled-banner">the man who wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner,”</a> <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-rioters-in-california-tear-down-religious-statue-of-father-junipero-serra">a notable person from the Catholic church</a>, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/memorial-dedicated-to-holocaust-survivors-toppled-at-cemetery-in-california">a Holocaust memorial</a> have also been destroyed in recent days.
The American Museum of Natural History <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-new-york-city-museum-taking-down-statue-of-president-theodore-roosevelt">announced</a> on Sunday that it would take down a statue of former President Theodore Roosevelt that has been located on the property for 80 years.</blockquote>
The destruction of statues and historical monuments seems to have slowed down over the last couple of days after President Donald Trump announced that his administration would be taking action against those involved. Trump even used his Twitter account, which has well over 80 million followers, to tweet out <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-tweets-15-posters-seeking-info-on-specific-suspects-allegedly-involved-in-destroying-statues">posters</a> of suspects that were wanted in connection to the attempted destruction of the Jackson statue in Washington, D.C.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Amazon Unveils Its First Smartphone

Activists Set Up Guillotine In Front Of Jeff Bezos’s D.C. Home, Call For Amazon To Be Abolished

Amazon

Jeff Bezos

Race

<div class="Raw-slyvem-0 kRDbto">
Catholics and other supporters showed up on Saturday to defend a statue of St. Louis&#8217; namesake from desecration and destruction by hundreds gathered to protest alleged racism.
</div>
<div class="Raw-slyvem-0 kRDbto">
As Catholic leaders and followers prayed openly in front of the statue of King Louis IX and even offered a &#8220;history lesson&#8221; to angered protesters, assaults erupted and vandalism was committed.
</div>
&#8220;The Rev. Stephen Schumacher, a priest with the St. Louis Archdiocese is attempting to provide a history lesson on King Louis IX,&#8221; reported Joel Currier of the <a href="https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/st-louis-archdiocese-responds-to-calls-to-remove-statue-of-citys-namesake/article_c436119b-52c9-5245-9222-fd939822c178.html">St. Louis Post-Dispatch</a>. &#8220;He’s being shouted down.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The Rev. Stephen Schumacher, a priest with the St. Louis Archdiocese is attempting to provide a history lesson on King Louis IX. He’s being shouted down. <a href="https://t.co/lMP1aHhEUO">pic.twitter.com/lMP1aHhEUO</a>
&mdash; Joel Currier (@joelcurrier) <a href="https://twitter.com/joelcurrier/status/1276943472809906179?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Rev. Schumacher, in a video which can be viewed below, attempted to inform protesters about King Louis IX.
&#8220;St. Louis was a man who had authority thrust upon him, he didn&#8217;t do anything to earn it. You’re right, he didn&#8217;t do anything to earn it,&#8221; started the priest. &#8220;What did he do with that authority? Do you know what he did? Go down to the St. Louis Cathedral, and you&#8217;ll see some of the history that St. Louis did.&#8221;
One of the protesters shouted, &#8220;Eventually we&#8217;re taking that, too, though,&#8221; referencing the cathedral.
&#8220;St. Louis was a man who willed to use his kingship to do good for his people,&#8221; Rev. Schumacher said, triggering angered shouts from protesters.
&#8220;He died in Tunisia,&#8221; one of the protesters shouted, drawing an alleged connection to Africans.
&#8220;St. Louis had nothing to do with Africans, okay,&#8221; the Catholic leader responded to protesters.
&#8220;Do you know who lived in Tunisia in the 1100s?&#8221; he posed, &#8220;Arabs. &#8230; and the Arabs had killed all the Africans in Tunisia in the 700s.&#8221;
&#8220;In the 700s, Arab Muslims conquered the Holy Land,&#8221; Rev. Schumacher continued, &#8220;Christians did not fight back against that. &#8230; the Crusades happened beginning in 1095, after the Turks conquered the Holy Land.&#8221;
During the same intense face-off, some protesters marked the statue with chalk, calling for its destruction, reported Currier.
&#8220;This man [wrote] &#8216;Demonter Demanteler&#8217; on the Louie IX base. That translates roughly to remove/take down,” Currier wrote.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This man “Demonter Demanteler” on the Louie IX base. That translates roughly to remove/take down. <a href="https://t.co/2d5iu7tx3X">pic.twitter.com/2d5iu7tx3X</a>
&mdash; Joel Currier (@joelcurrier) <a href="https://twitter.com/joelcurrier/status/1276934626817323009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In another image captured by Robert Cohen, a photojournalist with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a supporter of the statue is punched by a protester; the priest also has his megaphone taken from him.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Should he stay or should he go? Protesters clash over statue of St. Louis&#39; namesake, by <a href="https://twitter.com/joelcurrier?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@joelcurrier</a>. <a href="https://t.co/bjKfqV94mb">https://t.co/bjKfqV94mb</a> <a href="https://t.co/WnghoNF0rM">pic.twitter.com/WnghoNF0rM</a>
&mdash; Robert Cohen (@kodacohen) <a href="https://twitter.com/kodacohen/status/1277014258857975809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In the video below, captured by Currier, supporters of the statue pray together as they are mocked by protesters.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Arguments continue at the Louis IX statue. There have been a few scuffles; last police officer left about 20 minutes ago despite lingering tensions. <a href="https://t.co/bxbHnEz16X">pic.twitter.com/bxbHnEz16X</a>
&mdash; Joel Currier (@joelcurrier) <a href="https://twitter.com/joelcurrier/status/1276965361741594625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In a statement released Sunday, the St. Louis Archdiocese defended the statue of St. Louis IX.
<div class="page" title="Page 1">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
&#8220;The history of the statue of St. Louis, the King is one founded in piety and reverence before God, and for non-believers, respect for one’s neighbor,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.archstl.org/Portals/0/Documents/Communication_Planning/PressReleases/Archdiocese%20of%20St.%20Louis%20Statement%20on%20Louis%20IX%20Statue.pdf?ver=2020-06-28-090006-217&amp;fbclid=IwAR39zDd5oCncGGSEeZ7mBB3c8NORaODsf6N-nIN9siQTXDjJ1ZmMWSCV1_4">statement</a> said. &#8220;The reforms that St. Louis implemented in French government focused on impartial justice, protecting the rights of his subjects, steep penalties for royal officials abusing power, and a series of initiatives to help the poor.&#8221;
&#8220;King Louis IX’s renowned work in charity helped elevate him to Sainthood,&#8221; the St. Louis Archdiocese continued. &#8220;His daily suppers were shared with numerous beggars, whom he invited to the royal table. On many evenings, he would not let them leave before he washed their feet. He personally paid to feed more than 100 poor Parisians every day. His care for the sick was equally moving; St. Louis frequently ministered to lepers. He also created a number of hospitals, including one for the blind and another for ex-prostitutes.&#8221;
</div>
</div>
</div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The St. Louis Archdiocese today emailed a statement about the statue of Louis IX. <a href="https://t.co/QfGmAznjwR">https://t.co/QfGmAznjwR</a> <a href="https://t.co/K29weQ4p34">pic.twitter.com/K29weQ4p34</a>
&mdash; Joel Currier (@joelcurrier) <a href="https://twitter.com/joelcurrier/status/1277269193457577984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Video from this moment earlier. <a href="https://t.co/PXLMoT3s1c">https://t.co/PXLMoT3s1c</a> <a href="https://t.co/WE6vHeEsJH">pic.twitter.com/WE6vHeEsJH</a>
&mdash; Joel Currier (@joelcurrier) <a href="https://twitter.com/joelcurrier/status/1276969627025911809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/made-heroic-sacrifices-bishops-condemn-rioters-that-vandalized-toppled-junipero-serra-statues">‘Made Heroic Sacrifices’: Bishops Condemn Rioters That Vandalized, Toppled Junipero Serra Statues</a>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

St. Louis Cityscapes And City Views

WATCH: Assaults Break Out As Catholics Defend Statue From Hundreds Threatening Destruction; Priest Offers ‘History Lesson’

Catholicism

President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr both took new steps on Friday to combat the extremists who have been wreaking havoc across the country in recent weeks and to protect America&#8217;s monuments.
Trump tweeted late on Friday, &#8220;I just had the privilege of signing a very strong Executive Order protecting American Monuments, Memorials, and Statues – and combatting recent Criminal Violence. Long prison terms for these lawless acts against our Great Country!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I just had the privilege of signing a very strong Executive Order protecting American Monuments, Memorials, and Statues &#8211; and combatting recent Criminal Violence. Long prison terms for these lawless acts against our Great Country!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1276633518433538049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Barr announced the creation of a new task force to take on the anti-government extremists who have been causing much of the destruction in recent weeks.
&#8220;I am today directing the creation of a task force devoted to countering violent anti-government extremists,&#8221; Barr wrote in a memo. &#8220;The task force will be co-headed by Craig Carpenito, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, and Eric Nealy Cox, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. The task force will include members of United States Attorney&#8217;s Offices, the FBI, and other relevant components across the Nation. Drawing particularly on the capabilities of the FBI, the task force will develop detailed information about violent anti-government extremist individuals, networks, and movements – and will share that information as appropriate with federal, state, and local law enforcement, especially in places where these extremists pose a threat.&#8221;
Barr specifically mentioned Antifa and other groups in his memo and noted that “some of these violent extremists, moreover, may be fortified by foreign entities seeking to sow chaos and disorder in our country.”
“The task force will also provide training and identify resources to help law enforcement at all levels identify, investigate, and prosecute violent acts by anti-government extremists,” the memo said. “The ultimate goal of the task force will be not only to enable prosecutions of extremists who engage in violence, but to understand these groups well enough that we can stop such violence before it occurs and ultimately eliminate it as a threat to public safety and the rule of law.”
The moves by the president and the attorney general come after violent riots that were touched off by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month quickly morphed into the destruction of monuments, statues, and memorials across the country.
In recent days, extremists have destroyed statues of former Presidents <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-rioters-burn-american-flag-on-fire-on-top-of-george-washington-statue-tear-it-down">George Washington</a>, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/portland-protesters-tear-down-racist-statue-thomas-jefferson">Thomas Jefferson</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rioters-in-california-tear-down-statue-of-ulysses-s-grant-he-defeated-the-confederacy-devastated-kkk">Ulysses S. Grant</a>, and attempted to destroy the statue of former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-rioters-near-white-house-try-to-tear-down-presidential-statue-set-up-black-house-autonomous-zone">Andrew Jackson</a> before being stopped by law enforcement.
Statues of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-rioters-tear-down-statue-of-francis-scott-key-he-wrote-the-star-spangled-banner">the man who wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner,”</a> <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-rioters-in-california-tear-down-religious-statue-of-father-junipero-serra">a notable person from the Catholic church</a>, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/memorial-dedicated-to-holocaust-survivors-toppled-at-cemetery-in-california">a Holocaust memorial</a> have also been destroyed in recent days.
The American Museum of Natural History <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-new-york-city-museum-taking-down-statue-of-president-theodore-roosevelt">announced</a> on Sunday that it would take down a statue of former President Theodore Roosevelt that has been located on the property for 80 years.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

President Trump Holds News Conference In Rose Garden On Census And Citzenship

Trump Signs Executive Order Protecting Monuments. Barr Creates Task Force To Tackle Extremists, Includes Antifa.

Donald Trump

William Barr

In response to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-video-shows-arrest-that-led-to-rioters-toppling-abolitionist-statue-assaulting-democrat-politician">the arrest</a> of a man who walked into a cafe holding a baseball bat and screaming through a megaphone, a riot broke out in Madison, Wisconsin, Tuesday night. The result was violence, including the brutal assault of a &#8220;gay progressive&#8221; Democratic politician, as well as property damage, including toppled monuments, among them a statue dedicated to an abolitionist.
On Wednesday, Madison&#8217;s Democratic mayor — who champions the idea of &#8220;reimagining public safety&#8221; — issued an incensed rebuke of the &#8220;protesters&#8221; who wreaked havoc in her city the night before, and called for a clear distinction to be made between those exercising their constitutional right to protest and those seizing on the opportunity to engage in &#8220;criminal conduct.&#8221;
&#8220;[W]hat happened last night in Madison was far from peaceful and exceeding dangerous,&#8221; Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said in the <a href="https://www.cityofmadison.com/mayor/news/statement-of-mayor-rhodes-conway-0">statement</a> posted Wednesday on her government website. &#8220;People attacked a State Senator who championed workers’ rights in 2011, tore down a statue of an abolitionist who died trying to end slavery during the Civil War, and attempted to set fire to a building with dozens of people inside.&#8221;
&#8220;We need to separate First Amendment protests from those engaged in criminal conduct,&#8221; the progressive mayor declared. &#8220;People engaged in violence and criminal conduct against people or property on the streets of Madison will be held accountable.&#8221;
&#8220;Over the past weeks, we have heard chants of &#8216;who keeps us safe? We keep us safe!&#8217; It&#8217;s time for that &#8216;us&#8217; and that &#8216;we&#8217; to include everyone in Madison,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Because every single person who lives here deserves to be and feel safe in our City. And it is up to every single one of us to make that true. Everyone — police, protester, elected official, business owner, resident — everyone must find it within themselves to show compassion and kindness for each other, and to care about each other&#8217;s safety and well-being. ​&#8221;
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-video-shows-arrest-that-led-to-rioters-toppling-abolitionist-statue-assaulting-democrat-politician">The Daily Wire</a> highlighted, the riot was sparked by an incident caught on video that prompted 911 calls:
<blockquote>The videos, including two posted by the Madison Police Department, show the arrest of a baseball bat-wielding Black Lives Matter protester, identified as <a href="https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime-and-courts/black-activist-arrested-taken-to-ground-by-police-after-disturbance-in-madison-restaurant/article_8356b4c1-4dbf-52ff-9d5b-cadb98bf5356.html">Devonere Johnson</a>, 28, whose threatening behavior and rhetoric prompted 911 calls, and who subsequently resisted arrest and managed to escape. In the videos, bystanders can be seen attempting to accuse police of detaining a black man without cause.
In one video, posted by the Madison PD on Tuesday, Johnson can be seen walking around a cafe with a baseball ball on his shoulder and yelling at the customers and employees through a bullhorn. In his wild, racially charged rant, Johnson refers to himself as “Yeshua Musa” and makes various radical accusations. He initially walks in with a bullhorn in a white man’s face accusing him of being a racist. Johnson, repeatedly using the N-word, then claims that Jesus was actually Horus and has been used to justify rape, murder, pedophilia, and other injustices.</blockquote>
<iframe title="Coopers inside" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vSgI0vCoLMY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Another video shows Johnson appearing to resist arrest while bystanders accuse the officers of supposedly arresting him for simply &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-video-shows-arrest-that-led-to-rioters-toppling-abolitionist-statue-assaulting-democrat-politician">using a megaphone</a>.&#8221;
Among the victims of the Madison riot Tuesday night was Democratic State Sen. Tim Carpenter, who was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rioters-attack-democrat-state-senator-in-wisconsin-he-responds-im-a-gay-progressive-on-their-side">assaulted</a> after he took photos of protesters demanding the release of Johnson.
“I don’t know what happened … all I did was stop and take a picture … and the next thing I’m getting five-six punches, getting kicked in the head,” Carpenter told The Washington Post. “This has got to stop before someone gets killed. Sad thing I’m on their side for peaceful demonstrations — am a Gay Progressive Dem Senator served 36 years in the legislature.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I took this pic- it got me assaulted &amp; beat up. Punched/kicked in the head, neck, ribs. Maybe concussion, socked in left eye is little blurry, sore neck &amp; ribs. 8-10 people attacked me. Innocent people are going to get killed. Capitol locked- stuck in office.Stop violence nowPlz! <a href="https://t.co/Zw2hdfYG66">pic.twitter.com/Zw2hdfYG66</a>
&mdash; Tim Carpenter (@TimCarpenterMKE) <a href="https://twitter.com/TimCarpenterMKE/status/1275716467007328258?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Below is the full text of Rhodes-Conway&#8217;s statement:
<blockquote>Thousands of people have come out in Madison and around Wisconsin to protest the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and the many taken before them. I have heard from thousands of Madisonians in the past week, the vast majority of whom are supportive of the Black Lives Matter movement and the peaceful protests that have occurred in Madison.
However, what happened last night in Madison was far from peaceful and exceeding dangerous. People attacked a State Senator who championed workers’ rights in 2011, tore down a statute of an abolitionist who died trying to end slavery during the Civil War, and attempted to set fire to a building with dozens of people inside. We need to separate First Amendment protests from those engaged in criminal conduct. People engaged in violence and criminal conduct against people or property on the streets of Madison will be held accountable.
Madison Police are involved in a wide-ranging investigation of activities that lead up to the arrest on the square yesterday and will have further information on this investigation when it is available. Officers are also investigating Sunday night hit and run involving a pick-up truck and a pedestrian.
People are asking for real, substantive changes, and the City is responding. The Council moved forward with the creation of an independent police auditor and an independent civilian police oversight committee, and we will continue to work to implement the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Task Force on Police Policy and Procedure. The Public Safety Review Committee and the City Attorney&#8217;s office are reviewing the Madison Police Department&#8217;s use of force policies, comparing them with the 8 can&#8217;t wait standards, the NAACP recommendations, and other best practices from around the country, and will make recommendations for any needed changes. Our Community and Economic Development divisions are working to develop programs and move funds to support wealth-building, housing assistance, small businesses and more in the Black community. Alders are exploring the mental health ambulance model and how to adapt it for Madison. My office is engaging with the question of how to reimagine public safety, and working to engage the community in all of these issues. At the State level, the Governor and Lt. Governor introduced a strong package of proposals around police reform and racial equity.
Over the past weeks, we have heard chants of &#8220;who keeps us safe? We keep us safe!&#8221; It&#8217;s time for that “us” and that “we” to include everyone in Madison. Because every single person who lives here deserves to be and feel safe in our City. And it is up to every single one of us to make that true. Everyone &#8211; police, protester, elected official, business owner, resident &#8211; everyone must find it within themselves to show compassion and kindness for each other, and to care about each other&#8217;s safety and well-being. ​</blockquote>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Broken window.

Mayor: ‘What Happened Last Night In Madison Was Far From Peaceful And Exceeding Dangerous’

Black Lives Matter

Defund The Police

Wisconsin

As calls from the Left intensify to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/12/opinion/sunday/floyd-abolish-defund-police.html">abolish the police</a>, and New York City takes action to remove officers and dismantle vital anti-crime units, the city that never sleeps surged in gun violence by a stunning <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2020/06/22/new-york-city-shootings-surge-police-department-disband-anti-crime-unit/">358%</a> since this time last year.
&#8220;It has been nearly a quarter century since New York City experienced as much gun violence in the month of June as it has seen this year,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/nyregion/nyc-shootings-surge.html?referringSource=articleShare">The New York Times</a> reported Tuesday.
NYC &#8220;logged 125 shootings in the first three weeks of the month, more than double the number recorded over the same period last year, police data show,&#8221; the report noted. &#8220;Gunmen opened fire during house parties, barbecues and dice games, and carried out coldly calculated street executions.&#8221;
Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael LiPetri said you would &#8220;have to go back to 1996 to have a worse start of June.&#8221;
Over this past weekend, 38 people were shot in just 72 hours, and that total only grew larger by Monday.
Commissioner Dermot F. Shea disbanded anti-crime units in the city last week, comprised of plainclothes officers, which were vital for proactive policing concerning illegal firearms on the streets.
Additionally, as noted by <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/2020/06/16/seismic-shift-nypd-disbands-controversial-anti-crime-unit-involved-in-many-shootings/#3293e4836607">Forbes</a>, roughly 600 plainclothes officers were reassigned &#8220;to new roles including neighborhood policing and detective bureaus&#8221; in conjunction with the disbanding of the proactive police units.
Chief LiPetri cited virus-related court proceedings restrictions for contributing to the spike. &#8220;Although police arrested more people for gun possession this year, he said many were released because their cases could not be presented to a grand jury within six days, the statutory limit for holding people in custody without an indictment,&#8221; he explained, according to the Times.
About 40% of those arrested on gun possession charges had been released without bail, thanks to Democrat-led &#8220;reforms.&#8221;
NYC is not alone in the recent crime spike, Democrat-run cities like Chicago and Minneapolis have also been plagued with sky-high shooting rates.
Still, as noted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/minneapolis-city-council-unanimously-passes-resolution-to-replace-police-department-with-community-led-public-safety-system">The Daily Wire</a>, the Minneapolis City Council voted earlier this month to unanimously pass a resolution that would replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a so-called “community-led public safety system.”
The resolution cited the death of George Floyd, a black man who died last month following a disturbing arrest captured on viral video.
“The murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, by Minneapolis police officers is a tragedy that shows that no amount of reforms will prevent lethal violence and abuse by some members of the Police Department against members of our community, especially Black people and people of color,” <a href="https://lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/File/3806/Transforming%20Community%20Safety%20Resolution.pdf">wrote</a> five of the council members.
The decision to gut policing in the city was strongly pushed back on by Minneapolis Police Chief <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/minneapolis-police-chief-blasts-calls-to-defund-department-says-he-wont-abandon-residents">Medaria Arradondo</a>, who vowed not to abandon citizens.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/minneapolis-police-chief-blasts-calls-to-defund-department-says-he-wont-abandon-residents">Minneapolis Police Chief Blasts Calls To Defund Department, Says He Won’t Abandon Residents</a>
H/t <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2020/06/22/new-york-city-shootings-surge-police-department-disband-anti-crime-unit/">The Daily Caller</a> 
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

George Floyd Protest Juneteenth &#8211; New York City

‘Defund The Police’: NYC Shootings EXPLODE Amid Disbanding Of Anti-Crime Units, Reassignment Of Hundreds Of Officers

Crime

New York City

On Wednesday, BET Founder Robert Johnson mocked those who are destroying statues across the U.S. and who are trying to cancel television shows because they think that’s what black people want.
During an interview with Fox News, Johnson <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bet-founder-mocks-crowds-statues">said</a> that those who are destroying statues across the country &#8220;have the mistaken assumption that black people are sitting around cheering for them saying &#8216;Oh, my God, look at these white people. They&#8217;re doing something so important to us. They&#8217;re taking down the statue of a Civil War general who fought for the South.'&#8221;
&#8220;You know, black people, in my opinion, black people laugh at white people who do this the same way we laugh at white people who say we got to take off the TV shows [like] The Dukes of Hazard,&#8221; Johnson continued. &#8220;I bet if you go back and look at the Nielsen ratings when The Dukes of Hazard was on television, I&#8217;ll bet you it had a huge black viewing population. The one thing you can do is research it, find out, because blacks watched more television than whites did, always has been historically.&#8221;
Johnson also took a shot at white Americans who think that by doing &#8220;emotionally or drastic things&#8221; that black people will look at them and think that white people love them. Johnson said that &#8220;black people don&#8217;t give a damn&#8221; if statues of people like Stonewall Jackson, who was a Confederate general, are taken down.
Johnson also mocked HBO Max for taking down &#8220;Gone with the Wind,” then putting it back with a disclaimer, saying, &#8220;What the hell do you need a disclaimer with &#8216;Gone with the Wind,&#8217; as if black people think that we believe that slavery was like &#8216;Gone with the Wind&#8217;? Who are you trying to convince?&#8221;
“Look, the people who are basically tearing down statues, trying to make a statement, are basically borderline anarchists, the way I look at it. They really have no agenda other than the idea we&#8217;re going to topple a statue,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;It&#8217;s not going to give a kid whose parents can&#8217;t afford college money to go to college. It&#8217;s not going to close the labor gap between what white workers are paid and what black workers are paid. And it&#8217;s not going to take people off welfare or food stamps.”
Johnson also mocked &#8220;white privilege,&#8221; and those who get on social media and apologize for being white.
&#8220;You know, that to me is the silliest expression of white privilege that exists in this country. The notion that a celebrity could get on a Twitter feed and say, ‘Oh my God, I am so sorry that I am white.’ I don&#8217;t find any black people getting on Twitter and saying, &#8216;Oh, I&#8217;m so sorry I&#8217;m black.&#8217; And we got the worst problems. &#8230; My thing is: embrace being white and do the right thing.&#8221;
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Allen &amp; Co. Media And Technology Conference

BET Founder Robert Johnson Mocks Crowds Pulling Down Statues, Canceling TV Shows, Apologizing For Being White

protests

The revelation that the &#8220;hate crime&#8221; noose in Bubba Wallace&#8217;s garage was really just a rope put there to pull down the door months before his team moved in is not a surprise to anyone smarter than a sea sponge. The very idea that some racist with ninja-like abilities managed to sneak into a highly secure area, evading cameras and security guards, and plant a noose in a NASCAR driver&#8217;s stall, was hard to believe on its face. Add to the fact that these noose stories are almost always hoaxes or misinterpretations, and you had, from the outset, a high probability that this was all a bunch of outrage and drama over nothing. There is no sorcery that enabled the skeptics to see the future and anticipate such an outcome. It was just common sense, a thing in such short supply these days that it might as well be a magical power.
Of course, the Left isn&#8217;t willing to give up on this non-hate crime so easily. Charlatans like Al Sharpton were on TV early this morning <a href="https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1275750801789661186">implying</a> that the pull down rope on the garage door might still be a hate crime and requires additional investigation. Bubba Wallace attended what turned into a televised therapy session with Don Lemon last night, and, while admitting that it probably wasn&#8217;t a hate crime, <a href="https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/1275742540780711936?s=20">maintained</a> that the rope was tied like a noose and that he&#8217;s never seen a rope like that in a garage in his life.
For the record, it was not a literal noose. NASCAR&#8217;s official statement citing the FBI&#8217;s finding states that it was a rope &#8220;fashioned like a noose,&#8221; which is short of calling it an actual noose. An actual noose closes when you apply pressure to it (that&#8217;s the whole point). Try shutting a heavy garage door with a noose and you&#8217;ll be rewarded with a broken hand. The offending knot served as a garage door pull; similar knots can be found in garages, on docks, and in fishing boats the world over.
I believe that many of the Leftist shut-ins and city slickers expressing confusion on this point may really have gone their whole lives without seeing a rope tied this way. That&#8217;s what happens when you&#8217;ve never been camping or fishing or participated in any other outdoor activity of that sort. But it&#8217;s hard to fathom that anyone in NASCAR would have mistaken a garage pull for a true &#8220;noose.&#8221; Nonetheless, NASCAR advanced the hate crime narrative before completing the investigation, and Wallace even insulted the skeptics who questioned it.
But the real headline to come out of this fiasco can be found in the first paragraph of the FBI&#8217;s statement announcing the conclusion of their investigation. The statements says, in part: &#8220;On Monday, fifteen FBI special agents conducted numerous interviews regarding the situation at Talladega Superspeedway.  After a thorough review of the facts and evidence surrounding this event, we have concluded that no federal crime was committed.&#8221;
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FupQ8KEBGcY" width="720" height="385" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Fifteen FBI special agents? The government sent fifteen people to investigate a rope &#8220;fashioned like a noose&#8221; in a garage. What were they all doing? I imagine it takes one guy to look at the rope and observe that it is attached to the door. Perhaps one other guy to go check the security tapes. What task are the other thirteen performing? Did they need a separate person to Google &#8220;what is a noose&#8221;? Did they have someone dusting for finger prints or taking DNA samples? I simply can&#8217;t imagine how fifteen federal agents managed to occupy themselves with a garage door for two days.
This would be almost funny if not for the fact that there is something else of a rather more pressing nature they could be doing. As we speak, violent insurrections are wreaking havoc across the country. Buildings are being burned, police are attacked, statues toppled, innocent bystanders assaulted, whole city blocks occupied. And behind this chaos lies well funded organizations like Antifa and Black Lives Matter. Could those fifteen agents not have been sent to investigate this coordinated attempt to undermine law and order? Apparently not. As it stands right now, not much is being done about this anarchy. The anarchists are largely being allowed to commit crimes, even federal crimes, and those backing and funding and encouraging them are permitted to continue in those efforts unmolested. Instead, our government is committing significant resources to fighting the scourge of racist garage doors.
As a nation, we have descended into full on parody. Things seem like they can&#8217;t possibly get any dumber or more outrageous. But then again, tomorrow is a new day.
More from Matt Walsh: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walsh-if-you-value-our-national-history-and-the-rule-of-law-you-should-oppose-the-destruction-of-monuments">If You Value Our National History And The Rule Of Law, You Should Oppose The Destruction Of Monuments</a>

Lafayette Park Riot

WALSH: The FBI Sent 15 Federal Agents To Investigate Bubba Wallace Claim While Violent Insurrections Tear The Country Apart

Bubba Wallace

Hate Crime

No decent person can support George Floyd&#8217;s mistreatment, or the mistreatment of anyone else, at the hands of police officers with the sworn duty to uphold the law. The Minneapolis authorities moved quickly, and Derek Chauvin was fired from the Minneapolis police department, placed under arrest and charged with second-degree murder and other charges. The three officers who were with him were also fired and charged two counts of aiding and abetting — one for second-degree murder and one for second-degree manslaughter.
Peaceful protest in any cause is as American as apple pie, but what we saw in the wake of George Floyd&#8217;s murder is as despicable as anything recently seen in our nation. What makes it worse is the silence and seemly support in many quarters for anarchists who have highjacked the protests to promote their own ends. These are the white liberals and leftists groups like Antifa who could care less about the major problems that exist in black communities and made worse by the rioting and looting.
&#8220;Black Entrepreneurs 2020 Trends: A look at African-American-owned businesses in 2020&#8221; is a survey of black-owned businesses. When blacks were asked how they view themselves in the present political climate, most were either &#8220;very confident&#8221; or &#8220;somewhat confident.&#8221; If that survey were run today, I doubt whether we would get anywhere near the same results. Part of the difference would be from the government&#8217;s economic shutdown of our nation but most of it would be the result of the recent wanton destruction within black communities. There are videos of legally armed black business owners standing outside their shops to protect them. There are other scenes of black small-business owners in tears over the destruction of businesses that they&#8217;ve put their life&#8217;s savings into. My question to the white Antifa anarchists, and their fellow black looters, is how does the destruction of black-owned business promote justice for the murder of George Floyd?
The recent looting and property destruction, as well as the high crime rates in many black neighborhoods, have the effect of a law that outlaws economic growth and opportunities. During the recent mayhem in black communities, stores of many types were looted and destroyed. CVS pharmacy has closed 60 stores in 21 states amid looting and protests. Large stores like Walmart were looted and burned. Many smaller stores and businesses were looted and burned. Who will bear the ultimate cost of the rioting? If you said black people, you are right. Black people must bear the expense and inconvenience to go to suburban shopping malls if they are to avoid the higher prices charged by smaller neighborhood stores that have survived the rioting and looting.
Even when there is not the kind of social disorder of recent weeks, lawlessness is the hallmark of many black communities. Ultimately, the solution to this lawlessness rests with black people. Given the current political environment, it does not benefit a black or white politician to take those steps necessary to crack down on lawlessness in black communities. That means black people must become intolerant of criminals who make their lives living hell, even if it means taking the law into their own hands.
That brings me to one of the most disturbing aspects of the rioting and looting. That is the seeming impotence of people whom we elect and pay to enforce the law. That includes governors, mayors and police chiefs who refuse to use their law enforcement powers to protect citizens and their property from criminals. Unfortunately, politicians who call for law and order are often viewed negatively. But that makes little sense. Poor people are more dependent on law and order than anyone else. In the face of high crime or social disorder, wealthier people can afford to purchase alarm systems, buy guard dogs, hire guards and, if things get too bad, move to a gated community. These options are not available to poor people. Their only protection is an orderly society.
Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. To find out more about Walter E. Williams and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

Rioters

WILLIAMS: Now What?

African American community

Law Enforcement

One accused arsonist learned the hard way that if you&#8217;re going to wear your new shirt to torch a cop car, you may want to think twice about leaving a product review for your new threads.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Philadelphia Police Department used Instagram, LinkedIn, and a photo left in a review on the e-commerce site Etsy to locate and arrest a woman shown hurling what appears to be &#8220;flaming debris&#8221; into a Philadelphia Police Department vehicle during a May 30th protest, ostensibly honoring the memory of George Floyd, a black man who died while in the custody of Minneapolis police.
<a href="https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/instagram-etsy-sale-tattoo-how-fbi-found-woman-accused-of-torching-ppd-cars/2436832/">According to NBC Philadelphia</a>, &#8220;Lore-Elisabeth Blumenthal, 33, faces two counts of felony arson &#8230; She is accused of setting the police cars alight during the first day of protests in Philadelphia, which began peacefully but gave way to mass looting and destruction as the day wore on.&#8221;
Blumenthal was pictured gearing up to toss flaming garbage into one police car and then again battering a second vehicle with a piece of lumber. In the photos, she is wearing a shirt that says, “Keep the immigrants, deport the racists,&#8221; and is sporting several visible tattoos.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
ARRESTED FOR RIOTING: US Attorney’s Office says photos show 33yo Lore-Elisabeth Blumenthal setting <a href="https://twitter.com/PhillyPolice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PhillyPolice</a> car on fire. She’s also accused of torching a police SUV during City Hall riot on 5/30. Blumenthal (Philadelphia) faces federal charges, up to 10yrs in prison <a href="https://twitter.com/6abc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@6abc</a> <a href="https://t.co/gI05jhJVaA">pic.twitter.com/gI05jhJVaA</a>
&mdash; TaRhonda Thomas (@TaRhondaThomas) <a href="https://twitter.com/TaRhondaThomas/status/1273546641342070784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
An eagle-eyed FBI agent spotted both Blumenthal&#8217;s slogan shirt and her &#8220;peace sign&#8221; tattoo in footage aired on local news stations.
&#8220;FBI Special Agent Joseph Carpenter said in an affidavit of probable cause that he first saw Blumenthal holding a burning piece of a police barricade and shoving it into a Philadelphia Police Department SUV while watching aerial footage of the protests on the news,&#8221; the NBC affiliate reported. &#8220;A video posted to Vimeo and sent to the FBI by the Department of Homeland Security also allegedly captured the moment.&#8221;
A Google search turned up Blumenthal&#8217;s shirt as a sale item on Etsy, an e-commerce website devoted largely to selling handmade crafts and vintage items. Lo and behold, a shopper from Philadelphia, with the username &#8220;alleycatlore&#8221; had posted a five-star review for the shirt that read, ”Fast shipping, thanks very much!”
&#8220;Having found a person from Philadelphia, agents then searched &#8216;alleycatlore&#8217; on Google and with it found another online profile, &#8216;Lore-Elisabeth&#8217; on the online fashion store Poshmark,&#8221; a local Fox affiliate added. &#8220;With a new search term &#8216;Lore Elisabeth Philadelphia,&#8217; law enforcement officials found a LinkedIn profile for a woman who is a massage therapist in Philadelphia.&#8221;
That LinkedIn profile led to a website, which featured a video showing a suspiciously familiar woman with a peace sign tattoo giving a massage. That site had a phone number and other contact information for Blumenthal.
&#8220;Blumenthal was charged with the arson of two police vehicles and is currently in federal custody,&#8221; Fox Philadelphia reported late Wednesday.
The FBI says the system of tracking users through social media is called “open source intelligence” and can be very successful, particularly when suspects are of an age where social media use is ubiquitous.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Philadelphia police

FBI Uses Instagram, Etsy Review To Nab Woman Accused Of Torching Philly Cop Car

Philadelphia

The same Cornell student groups that sought to get a law professor fired for criticizing the tactics of the Black Lives Matter movement are now seeking to boycott his course.
William Jacobson wrote two articles on his personal website, Legal Insurrection, about the current protests and riots in the wake of the police-involved death of Minneapolis man George Floyd before the calls for this termination began. Having failed to get him fired, the outrage mob is now organizing a boycott of his course.
“Earlier this week, the Black Law Students Association circulated an email statement to the Cornell Law School community repeating many of the false and misleading accusations against me that I have covered in earlier posts,” Jacobson <a href="https://legalinsurrection.com/2020/06/anti-intellectualism-at-cornell-law-school-student-groups-organize-boycott-of-my-course/">wrote</a>. “But it went beyond that. They refused my offer to debate their representative and a faculty member of their choice, issued a call to boycott my course, and demand the law school screen faculty hires for ideological purity.”
Jacobson quoted from the email:
<blockquote>Although the law school recently released a statement regarding Professor Jacobson and his blog, we further urge the administration to critically examine the views of the individuals they intend to employ. Faculty members who challenge students to debate them on the motives of those fighting to preserve Black life are clearly more interested in amplifying their own agendas than engaging in thoughtful and reflective discourse. Professor Jacobson has claimed no expertise nor any specialized training on matters of race and racial justice, rendering any future discussions on the matter entirely unproductive. We are not interested in subjecting ourselves and our community members to dialogue that reinforces the false dichotomy of “right” versus “left” when it comes to our humanity.
By mentioning BLSA by name on his blog and suggesting that we are somehow the cause of some unwarranted vitriol he is receiving, Professor Jacobson invites a hostility that we cannot ignore. Accordingly, the BLSA Executive Board will refrain from participating in the Securities Law Clinic that Professor Jacobson supervises. As the course selection period approaches, we encourage our membership and our allies to reconsider studying under an individual whose views perpetuate hatred towards their fellow students. Thinly veiled racism under the guise of “intellectual diversity” has no place in our law school.</blockquote>
Jacobson said the student effort is now “being amplified by the Cornell Law School chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (a <a href="https://www.nlg.org/guild-notes/article/nlg-national-office-releases-new-radical-law-student-manual/">left-wing</a> national legal group).” He then quoted an email reportedly being circulated to organize the boycott.
“I am reaching out on behalf of the National Lawyers Guild regarding a letter we would like to send to the student body concerning Professor William Jacobson,” the email said. “We hope that everyone has had a chance to read the powerful statement the BLSA executive board sent on Monday regarding Prof. Jacobson. We support their statement, and hope to amplify it in one, unified campaign.”
Jacobson came under fire earlier this month after writing two articles critical of the riots that have broken out across the country, leading to deaths, looting, and destroyed businesses and property. One of those articles was a reminder that the “hands up, don’t shoot” narrative was false; the other was about the riots tearing down the country.
Alumni then began demanding Jacobson be punished, possibly terminated, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cornell-mob-comes-for-law-professor-who-criticized-black-lives-matter-movement">reported</a>. Cornell’s law school dean defended Jacobson’s right to free speech while saying he personally disagreed with what Jacobson said.
Jacobson wrote that the effort to boycott his class is “not about my writing on the issues, which they misrepresent and distort in the statement they plan on circulating.” He says it is “an attempt not just to scare students away from my course, but to scare students away from speaking their minds, and to create a faculty and student purity test.”
“This toxic atmosphere didn’t need to take place. At a time when the law school desperately needs an adult in the room, so to speak, we have faculty and a Dean who denounce me,” Jacobson wrote. “This isn’t activism, it’s anti-intellectualism.”
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Angry crowd

Cornell Students Now Boycotting Course Taught By Law Professor Critical Of Black Lives Matter Tactics

Cancel culture

Cornell University

Free Speech

On Monday, the celebrity-touted Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) posted a message online after facing intense backlash over the bail-out charity&#8217;s allocation of funds and lack of transparency.
According to MFF&#8217;s website, the organization has brought in over $30 million in donations since the death of George Floyd. However, only &#8220;well over&#8221; $200,000 in donations — less than 1% of their funds — have actually been used to bail out protesters and rioters.
&#8220;Appreciate all those calling for transparency,&#8221; the fund posted online Monday. &#8220;We see y&#8217;all. Our values and mission have not changed since 2016. Be on the lookout for things coming on our end. Be well.&#8221;
A follow-up tweet read: &#8220;Without jeopardizing the safety of the folks we bailed out we paid well over $200k in the weeks since the uprising alone. We are working on doing more.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Without jeopardizing the safety of the folks we bailed out we paid well over $200k in the weeks since the uprising alone. We are working on doing more.
&mdash; Minnesota Freedom Fund (@MNFreedomFund) <a href="https://twitter.com/MNFreedomFund/status/1272726417650995202?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
According to a report from <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/minnesota-freedom-fund-reveals-only-200000-millions-donations-has-been-spent-bail-out-1511097">Newsweek</a>, many online have &#8220;said that MFF had collected $35 million in donations in recent weeks and spent only a small fraction, prompting &#8217;35 MILLION&#8217; and &#8216;only 200k&#8217; to start trending on Twitter.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s not clear exactly how much the fund has raised since protests began, but on the Frequently Asked Questions section of the MFF website, updated earlier this month, it said that more than $30 million had been donated to the fund in the wake of Floyd&#8217;s death,&#8221; the report added.
The post from MFF quickly went viral, racking up thousands of replies from people angered by the lack of transparency:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
SMH people love profiting off of the pain of black folk. Disgusting
&mdash; Mikah AKA Mike Baggz 𓂀 (@MikeBaggz) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeBaggz/status/1272797160065699840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&#8230;and the remaining $34,800,000 went where? <a href="https://t.co/A3fJewyB1h">pic.twitter.com/A3fJewyB1h</a>
&mdash; Ashley K. (@AshleyKSmalls) <a href="https://twitter.com/AshleyKSmalls/status/1272744959511322624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
$200K is such a small portion of the 35 million donated. One thing you don&#39;t play with is folk&#39;s money. Better give that shxt back before Black Twitter wakes up <a href="https://t.co/jkfuUIMeJX">pic.twitter.com/jkfuUIMeJX</a>
&mdash; Joey ☝🏾 (@JoeySmith511) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeySmith511/status/1272743557468692481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
At the end of May, superstar <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/justin-timberlake-ill-help-pay-bail-for-arrested-protesters-ted-cruz-suggests-better-use-of-his-money">Justin Timberlake</a> announced that he&#8217;d be donating to MFF, hoping to bail out rioters.
“Please join me in supporting the Minneapolis protestors by donating to the @mnfreedomfund,” he tweeted. “The freedom fund is combating the harms of incarceration by paying bail for low income individuals who cannot otherwise afford: minnesoatafreedomfund.org.”
<div class="paragraph">
As noted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/f-trump-and-keep-going-teigen-carell-other-celebs-posting-bail-for-rioters">The Daily Wire</a>, other celebrities, like Steve Carell, Seth Rogan, Janelle Monae, Ben Schwartz, and Don Cheadle also chipped in $1,000 each for suspected criminal rioters in Minneapolis by donating to MFF.
</div>
Protests started to pop-up across the nation last month following the death of Floyd, a black man who died after a police officer had his knee on the 46-year-old’s neck during an arrest, a moment captured on video.
However, things quickly turned ugly; arson, looting, and violence spiked in places like Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York City, Rochester, and other cities.
Since Floyd&#8217;s passing, all four officers involved in the arrest have been fired, investigations from the FBI and state law enforcement have been opened, and the officer at the center of the incident was taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder; the three other officers involved have since been <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/03/us/george-floyd-officers-charges/index.html">charged</a>, too.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/f-trump-and-keep-going-teigen-carell-other-celebs-posting-bail-for-rioters">‘F*** TRUMP AND KEEP GOING’: Teigen, Carell, Other Celebs Posting Bail For Rioters</a>
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

70th Emmy Awards &#8211; Arrivals

UH-OH: Bail Out Fund Promoted By Celebs Under Fire After Taking In $30 Mill, Spending Almost No Money On Bail

Justin Timberlake

It’s all fun and protests until someone vandalized your home.
Olympia, Washington, Mayor Cheryl Selby has been a vocal supporter of Black Lives Matter and those protesting and rioting across the nation, yet when her own home was vandalized during the demonstrations, she called it “domestic terrorism.”
The Olympian <a href="https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article243516852.html">reported</a> late last week that “two groups converged in downtown Olympia, and some became destructive, burning flags, smashing windows, and spray painting businesses” before moving into Selby’s neighborhood and vandalizing her home.
One group, the outlet explained, comprised about 50 people wearing black to recreate a previous protest in the area. A second group was made up of about 30 people wearing neon-yellow T-shirts calling themselves the “peacekeepers” who cleaned up after the people in black.
“The black-clad group marched to City Hall before making its way through downtown Olympia. The protesters took trashcans and ‘ROAD WORK AHEAD’ signs from parking lots and sidewalks, dragging them into the streets and flipping them on their sides. The ‘peacekeepers’ then put them back while the other group heckled them,” the Olympian reported.
The group wearing black eventually marched in Selby’s South Capitol neighborhood. They chanted “abolish the police” outside her home while someone spray-painted “BLM” on her door and porch. A man nearby reportedly got the protesters to leave. When the group final did leave, they returned downtown, “spray painting store fronts, streets signs, lamp posts and sidewalks,” the outlet reported.
Neither Selby nor her family were home when the incident occurred, but she received texts from her neighbors about the vandalism.
“I’m really trying to process this,” she told the Olympian. “It’s like domestic terrorism. It’s unfair.”
“It hurts when you’re giving so much to your community,” she added.
Selby’s home, according to the outlet, also was targeted by protesters two years ago during a May Day protest. At that time, protesters chanted about her and passed out leaflets. Selby, a progressive Democrat being targeted by other progressives, said she worried for her neighbors, some of whom have small children that fear continued protests in their neighborhood.
“People have so little grace for each other right now. We need to have more grace,” Selby told the Olympian.
Selby sent KIRO 7 footage from her front porch surveillance camera and <a href="https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/olympia-mayors-home-vandalized-during-friday-night-protests/FQ6IRAMZVZEHVD7INR34XCENMI/">told</a> them “It&#8217;s pretty traumatic when somebody comes to your home.”
The person who spray-painted Selby’s home had to find space on the wall, since Selby had a pride flag and a Black Lives Matter already posted outside her house.
Earlier this month, Selby released a statement supporting the protests and saying she would not institute a curfew, stating sympathy for the police-involved death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd, which sparked the protests and riots across the nation.
“Every day since his murder, our country has shaken,” Selby said, <a href="https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article243307636.html">according to the Olympian</a>. “Convulsing between fear, rage, and nausea. We should feel sick. Those of us who hold the most microphones in our communities should feel nauseous.”
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Protests

Progressive Mayor Who Supported Black Lives Matter Gets Home Vandalized During Riots, Calls It ‘Domestic Terrorism’

Washington

Shay Mikalonis, a Las Vegas police officer who was shot in the head during an anti-racism protest that turned violent, is paralyzed from the neck down, according to his family and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Mikalonis, who is only 29, was shot during an altercation that broke out following what had been a mostly peaceful protest down the Las Vegas Strip on June 1st, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shay-mikalonis-las-vegas-police-officer-shot-george-floyd-protest-paralyzed/">CBS News</a>. Las Vegas police, who have a suspect in custody related to the shooting, appear to believe that Mikalonis was targeted because he was an in-uniform officer.
&#8220;Prosecutors have charged a 20-year-old man with deliberately shooting Mikalonis during the protest, one of the hundreds being held across the nation. A judge who reviewed evidence at June 5 court hearing said that police video shows Edgar Samaniego &#8216;walking by, taking out a gun and firing &#8230; at officers,'&#8221; CBS reported. &#8220;He is charged with attempted murder, battery and firearms charges and is being held in lieu of $1 million.&#8221;
Mikalonis&#8217; family released a statement Sunday evening updating the public on Shay&#8217;s condition.
&#8220;Shay is on a ventilator and will remain so. He is also paralyzed from the neck down and unable to speak. Shay is awake and seems to recognize his family members,&#8221; the family noted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Sharing with permission from Officer Mikalonis’s family. Since so many of our community is supporting Shay we wanted to provide an update as of June 12th, after the fundraiser held for him. He feels your prayers and positive thoughts. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PrayforShay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PrayforShay</a> <a href="https://t.co/rpwaxMTCui">pic.twitter.com/rpwaxMTCui</a>
&mdash; LVMPD Dispatch (@lvmpd_dispatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/lvmpd_dispatch/status/1271874307703128068?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Again, our family can never express our gratitude for all the support for Shay,” the statement continued. “We are always Las Vegas Strong and so proud of our community.&#8221;
As with many of the anti-racism protests that took place last week, the demonstration in Las Vegas quickly turned from peaceful to violent after officers gave the order for protesters to disperse. In many major cities, interlopers, determined to cause unrest, moved in as protesters moved out, leading to days of violence in places like Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Chicago, Illinois.
Across the country, &#8220;approximately 700 federal, state and local law enforcement officers have sustained injuries in clashes with demonstrators, according to Justice Department data,&#8221; per the <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/06/08/more-than-700-officers-injured-in-george-floyd-protests-across-us/">New York Post</a>.
Most of the casualties occurred in major cities. Around 60 Secret Service agents and 40 members of Washington, D.C.&#8217;s Park Police force were injured in a protest that turned violent in the nation&#8217;s capital, and 22 of those officers had to be hospitalized.
<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/nypd-292-officers-injured-floyd-protests">Fox News reported</a>, over the weekend, that 292 members of the New York City Police Department were injured amid the ongoing protests, though the extent of their injuries is &#8220;unclear.&#8221; <a href="https://news.wttw.com/2020/06/06/george-floyd-protests-1258-arrested-130-police-officers-injured-chicago">WTTW Chicago say</a>s that &#8220;130 police officers were injured between 5 p.m. May 29 and midnight May 31,&#8221; in that city. Police arrested more than 1,000 people in both cities.
Protests have spread from the United States across the globe, leading to confrontations between demonstrators and law enforcement officials in places like the United Kingdom, where 27 police officers were hurt, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-52954899">per the BBC</a>.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Las Vegas PD

Las Vegas Police Officer Shot During Protests Paralyzed From The Neck Down

Las Vegas

Police

Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant said she would be introducing legislation on Monday that would “ban the use of all chemical weapons and crowd-control, so-called crowd-control weapons against protest movements and to ban chokeholds.”
Sawant, a self-proclaimed socialist, made her announcement on CNN Friday during an interview with host Brianna Keilar, <a href="https://www.cnsnews.com/article/national/susan-jones/seattle-council-member-introducing-bill-ban-all-crowd-control-weapons">reported</a> CNS News. Sawant called the demonstrators who have taken over six square blocks of Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, now called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) a “rebellion” that “is incredibly inspiring to the vast majority of American people.&#8221;
She then accused President Donald Trump of threatening those “who are courageously protesting against police violence, threatening them with further escalation and military targets. I think it is a &#8212; we have to absolutely reject this idea.”
Trump has actually denounced the violent riots that have sprung up alongside the protesters.
&#8220;And, in fact, in that spirit on Monday, I will be bringing in legislation to vote to ban the use of all chemical weapons and crowd-control, so-called crowd-control weapons against protest movements and to ban chokeholds,&#8221; Sawant continued.
&#8220;It&#8217;s extremely important that we take this historic moment to win a real victory against police violence, defund by at least 50 percent and fight for an independently elected oversight board over the police,&#8221; she added, according to CNS.
Sawant went onto claim that “every night,” the Seattle Police Department is “inflicting incredible brutality and violence, horrific against the peaceful protest movement led by black and brown people.” She claimed she was “tear-gassed and maced” the night before.
Sawant called Trump a “coward” and then blamed Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan for the “violence against the peaceful protest movement.”
She went on to say:
<blockquote>This rebellion happened in the first place because police departments in city after city after city have been murdering black and brown people, exacting systematic violence against people with impunity. This has happened with impunity. Not a single police officer so far has been prosecuted under Mayor Durkan, for example, in Seattle.
Eight black and brown community members have been murdered at the hands of the police. Not one police officer has been prosecuted. We need to change the status quo.
That is why our movement is demanding that we defund the police by at least 50 percent and divert those funds for community programs, for restorative justice so we begin to address this systematic racism, what we need beyond that.</blockquote>
Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-police-chief-challenges-democrat-mayor-says-rapes-robberies-occurring-in-chaz-with-force-unable-to-respond">said last week</a> that the protests in CHAZ are anything but peaceful, saying that “rapes, robberies” and other violent crimes are occurring in the area but that her police officers are unable to respond due to the demonstrators hurling projectiles at them and barring their entrance.
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Kshama Sawant

Seattle City Council Member To Introduce Legislation Banning Use Of ‘Crowd-Control Weapons’ Against Protesters

Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone

Seattle

Menu