The Volokh Conspiracy
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
Black Lives Matter Chicago Publicly Defends Rioters and Looters
Chicago Sun-Times (Tom Schuba & Mitch Dudek) reports (you can find the entire BLM Chicago statement here):
"The mayor clearly has not learned anything since May, and she would be wise to understand that the people will keep rising up until the [Chicago Police Department] is abolished and our Black communities are fully invested in," the group said in a statement….
The stark warning and protests came after police wounded a 20-year-old man during a shootout Sunday afternoon in Englewood, leading to an hours-long standoff between officers and residents that at times grew violent. While police reported that the man fired at officers first, the activists questioned the official police narrative and noted that his shooting wasn't captured on officers' body-worn cameras…. The man who was shot, Latrell Allen, was charged Monday with two counts of attempted murder and one count of unlawful possession of a weapon ….
"Over the past few months, too many people — disproportionately Black and Brown — have lost their jobs, lost their income, lost their homes, and lost their lives as the city has done nothing and the Chicago elite have profited," the group's statement reads. "When protesters attack high-end retail stores that are owned by the wealthy and service the wealthy, that is not 'our' city and has never been meant for us."
At the demonstration later Monday, protesters held a sign that read, "Our futures have been looted from us … loot back."
I'm all for stopping crimes committed by the police—but I don't support crime by looters, and I don't support groups who defend such crime, or try to use it as a political tool.
