I could not let the day go without a post on the protests and the following violence.
Well this post is not about the violence of some police towards protesters but rather the police that are sneaking into the protests and inciting them to do vandalism.
The United States is on fire. Since the police killing of George Floyd on May 26, millions have taken to the streets in protest, clashing with police. At least 11 people have died, and thousands have been arrested. 15 states (plus Washington, D.C.) have called in the National Guard to quash protests raging in over 100 cities. Violence has been widespread, particularly in the epicenter Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed, with buildings engulfed in flames, stores looted and vehicles destroyed.
While protestors are undoubtedly responsible for some share of the destruction, the country’s law enforcement officials have also been caught multiple times sabotaging and destroying property as well, presumably in an attempt to escalate the situation or to defame the protests.
In Seattle, police were caught on camera smashing through the door of a local Target, seemingly far away from any conflict or commotion.
Agent Provocateurs: Police at Protests All Over the Country Caught Destroying Property
This is nothing new…..back in my younger days protests were infiltrated by FBI and the police and they would try to get the crowd fired up to commit other acts other than the protests….so there is a history there…..
It is a historical fact, as this episode illustrates, that law enforcement frequently infiltrates progressive political movements using agent provocateurs who urge others to engage in violence. It is also a historical fact that, more rarely, such provocateurs commit acts of violence themselves.
The media pays little attention to such infiltrators, for a variety of reasons. On the one hand, corporate media has never taken much enthusiasm in questioning government action in the midst of riots or major demonstrations, unless that action goes wildly over the line or targets members of the media. The subject of provocateurs is also fraught from the perspective of protesters and movement organizers, as it can lead to paranoia that undermines solidarity and movement building. It is often conflated with the trope of “outside agitators” and used by authorities or other opponents of the protesters to delegitimize the anger on display, giving some protesters or their supporters an incentive to downplay the reality of the provocations.
https://theintercept.com/2020/06/02/history-united-states-government-infiltration-protests/
Tactics by the police have gotten more deadly but some of them are still stuck in the 1960s.
But not to worry…there is NOTHING the president will do to change things….he wants protest leaders tagged as “terrorists”…..
Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray held a press conference Thursday afternoon to voice lying claims that left-wing groups bent on violence had “hijacked” the protests, in an effort to manufacture a pretext for repression.
Barr advocated the use of anti-terrorism units to apprehend the “agitators.” The branding of domestic political opposition as terrorism is aimed at delegitimizing and criminalizing all opposition to police violence and the policies of the oligarchy.
The level of lying in the Barr press conference would be admired by Nazi spokesman Josef Goebbels, the head of Hitler’s “Big Lie” propaganda machine. Barr conjured up an invented world in which demonstrations involving millions of people in hundreds of cities, large, medium and small, are being manipulated by Antifa, an “organization” that has not a single identified member. He also claimed that “foreign actors” were intervening in the protests, adding the specter of a Russian, Chinese, Iranian or Al Qaeda role.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/06/05/pers-j05.html
Let’s not forget that the police/FBI/others all work for the American public and yet they are being used to inflict pain and violence against them…..even to having “secret” officers used…..
June 3, protesters gathered near the White House in Washington, D.C., were confronted by mysterious personnel equipped in tactical riot gear, including shields and “non-lethal” weaponry. These paramilitary units, which appeared alongside National Guard troops, were virtually absent of any identifying badge or insignia.
In a fascistic rant on Monday, June 1, delivered only minutes after a violent attack by police against protesters exercising their democratic right to peaceful assembly, Trump made clear that his administration is preparing to trample on the Constitution and establish a presidential dictatorship. The appearance of these unmarked paramilitary units must be seen as a significant step in that direction.
When asked by protesters and reporters to identify themselves, the personnel either remained silent, or simply stated, “Department of Justice [DOJ].”
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/06/05/gfdc-j05.html
To be fair…there have been some great moments that the news did not cover as much….like in Louisville….
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