Posted on June 4, 2020

American Carnage: These Aren’t Protests — They’re Riots. Someone Must End the Lawlessness.

Buck Sexton, USA Today, June 2, 2020

Police sirens wailed up and down 8th Avenue in Manhattan, and New York Police Department helicopters hovered overhead Monday night. The rioters, according to my social media feeds, were several blocks away from my home, pillaging a clothing outlet. A family member sent me a photo he took, from his window, of a jewelry store being ransacked, with no cops in sight.

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The police here are not in control of the streets. Anyone can turn on the television or open up social media and see rioters chanting profanely, destroying public and private property, or even attacking women shop owners.

A national-level threat

President Donald Trump has realized that these riots have become a national-level threat to the safety and security of the American people. {snip}

With that in mind, on Monday evening he announced in the White House Rose Garden:

“Today I have strongly recommended to every governor to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets, mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled.

“If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them.”

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The president’s remarks led to speculation that Trump may invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807. It’s a rarely used law, but the White House could decide it’s the least bad option given the widespread mayhem. {snip}

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At least some of these riots appear coordinated and are preplanned events across state lines. John Miller, the NYPD deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism, stated Sunday that there’s evidence some of these groups have organized scouts, medics and supply routes of rocks, bottles and accelerants, and authorities have already made a large number of arrests from out of state. And the Minneapolis police report that they have found water bottles filled with gasoline hidden in bushes throughout neighborhoods where fires were set.

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Although we haven’t reached the level of chaos our nation experienced during the riots of 1968 and 1992, law and order in America is under siege. If either state governments or the federal government don’t take action to keep the peace now, circumstances could get worse, and our major cities risk collapsing under anarchy and rage.