I assume you’re talking about the 06-1-2021 protests in and around the Capitol building in Washington, DC.
You have to bear in mind that those protests reflected (largely) a frustrated, pent-up response to the grotesque violence that had erupted during the long, hot summer of 2020, followed by a travesty of local justice in many blue cities (e.g., Minneapolis, Chicago, NYC, Portland, Seattle, etc.), where hundreds of charges were dropped or not pursued by local DAs, even for assaults on LE.
I realize that some choose to characterize Jan6 as mostly a response to Biden’s electoral win, but I disagree. Because I was angry, too, I see the wild-eyed violence of Jan6 more as a manifestation of pent-up anger over fresh events, a release, although it was poorly directed in many cases at LE.
Any assault on LE is a crime, and the more violent that assault is the worse the crime. Full stop.
As it stands both sides have been granted a grace period. But going forward enforcing the letter of the law is likely a good idea. I think that’s what we’re seeing (mostly) from the DoJ, a sort of national “broken windows” response designed to tamp down tempers in what is already a hot summer.
“The streets were the emptiest I’ve seen in years,” said Ms. Woodland, an advisory neighborhood commissioner for Congress Heights. “It seemed like this group of [agents] just wanted to do the job of creating a safe space. And if that’s how they’re operating, man, we’re all for that.”
And this will take longer to sort out, but it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if the numbers were manipulated.
That’s an exaggeration unless you’re talking late night maybe. The last thing we need is a bunch of weekend warriors from shittier places sticking their nose under the tent. I feel sorry for them if they do.
It’s not like the Guard are actually patrolling the high crime areas. They’re just hanging out at the Mall for the most part. I suspect they’ll do the same in Chicago and the Apple. Set up in Times Square and Edison Park and call it a day. This is all for show, anyways.
Just a local? I’ve taken the subway hundreds and hundreds of times without incident, and usually you’ll see tourists happily making their way. Sure there’s a level of crime but insane grandstanding like this isn’t the answer to anything. It’s totally stupid.
Videos of the new law enforcement harassing or even beating innocent residents of D.C. have circulated heavily online, but it’s not just liberals who sharing them. Trump supporters love these videos, and, if anything, they are sharing them more than liberals. The right-wing Daily Wire shared a video of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents telling a woman that she’s fat, and it has nearly 250,000 likes on TikTok. Fox News posted a video of ICE agents tearing down an anti-Trump banner, and it now has nearly 5 million views, mostly from conservatives who are relishing this overt violation of basic First Amendment rights. Another MAGA influencer collected over 3.5 million views on a video of homeless people having their tents bulldozed. MAGA influencers also celebrated a video of federal agents yelling at a man for smoking on his patio, calling it “illicit activities” for people to be outside in their own neighborhoods.
