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As I listened to Harris speak, I wondered how differently the current situation would look under a different administration and something occurred to me - it DID happen under another administration. /1 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30190224
As I listened to Harris speak, I wondered how differently the current situation would look under a different administration and something occurred to me - it DID happen under another administration. /1 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30190224
Very similar events played out in the aftermath of the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, MO in August of 2014 under the Obama/Biden administration. As is currently happening the riots were not confined to the Ferguson and greater St. Louis area. /2
Both in August, when Brown was shot, and again in November, when a Grand Jury declined to bring charges against the officer who shot Brown, protests broke out in NYC, LA, Dallas, Atlanta, and other cities. /3 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-missouri-shooting/more-than-400-arrested-as-ferguson-protests-spread-to-other-u-s-cities-idUSKCN0J80PR20141126
While the unrest continued, according to the BBC article, Obama asked of the protesters to accept that the decision was "the grand jury's to make''. Without pointing fingers, he asked for calm. He amplified the voices of Brown's family calling for a halt to the violent unrest. /4
Police used "assertive" crowd control measures such as the deployment of gas and shooting bean bags in order to disperse the crowds. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon deployed just over 2,200 National Guard troops to help control the crowds. Over 400 protesters were arrested. /5
Separate from local investigations, the DOJ launched an investigation into the event and circumstances surrounding. While the DOJ also opted not to file charges, the resulting report was not kind to the Ferguson Police Department. /6
The report stated that "The Justice Department found that the Ferguson Police Department (FPD) engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the First, Fourth, and 14th Amendments of the Constitution." /7 https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-findings-two-civil-rights-investigations-ferguson-missouri
Correct me if I am wrong, but I cannot find record of any civilian casualties among the protesters, however two St. Louis PD officers were shot in March of 2015 in front of the Ferguson station during protests. https://apnews.com/9aa32033692547699a3b61da8fd1fc62
Compare this now to 4,400 arrests and over 62,000 National Guard troops deployed around the country in the first EIGHT DAYS after the killing of George Floyd on May 25th of this year. /8 https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrasternlicht/2020/06/02/over-4400-arrests-62000-national-guard-troops-deployed-george-floyd-protests-by-the-numbers/#5d60e954d4fe
In late July, on Trump's orders and against the will of local authorities, federal troops were deployed against continued violent protesting in Portland, OR and other cities. /9 https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/22/protests-portland-updates/
All of this occurs while Trump tweets out things like "When the looting starts, the shooting starts" and "Law and Order" repeatedly. There are no calm or measured attempts to quell the unrest, only inflammatory language and accusations from the current administration. /10
Within two weeks of Floyd's death, 19 other protest-related deaths occurred. Those are the most reliable and recent numbers I can find. We can add to that the two killed in Kenosha on Tuesday night. /11 https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/06/08/14-days-of-protests-19-dead/#601d85204de4
I have no nice conclusions to draw. But if you want to know how this may have played out under an administration run by grown ups rather than a toddler tyrant fanning flames of racial unrest for his own benefit, there's some numbers to compare. /12/end
PS - I have a relatively small following (>2k) and if this thread is going to reach more than a small handful of readers, I need your help in amplifying. Please RT.
