The Summer of Violence: Washington, D.C. in 2020

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CIVIL UNREST AND RADICAL LIBERAL VIOLENCE SET WASHINGTON, D.C. ABLAZE IN 2020

In 2020, the American people endured waves of terror. Whether it was COVID-19 and the associated strict lockdown or riots in the wake of the death of George Floyd, Americans encountered an unprecedented time of violence and chaos.

• May 29, 2020: Protestors reached the White House gates, forcing a temporary lockdown; protesters clashed with the United States Secret Service.
• Protesters reportedly threw “rocks, urine, and alcohol” at Secret Service agents, injuring more than 60 of them, including 11 hospitalized and treated for injuries.
• May 30, 2020: The Lincoln Memorial and World War II Memorial were vandalized; numerous fires were set intentionally by protesters, including a fire set at the historic St. John’s Church, a landmark where presidents have attended services since the 1800s.

• May-June 2020: During the peak of the George Floyd protests, more than 400 people were arrested in Washington, D.C.

• June 5, 2020: Mayor Muriel Bowser pandered to the looters and rioters by ordering the renaming and painting of a street adjacent to the White House as “Black Lives Matter Plaza.”
• Some protestors spray-painted “Defund the Police” on the street where “Black Lives Matter” had been painted earlier the previous day.

D.C. PUBLIC OFFICIALS: IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Instead of unequivocally condemning the violence and civil unrest, some liberal D.C. officials doubled down on the anti-police rhetoric that fueled much of the ongoing violence across the Nation, tacitly justifying the actions of the rioters.

• Mayor Bowser chimed in by signing a letter asking then-President Trump’s administration to pull federal resources out of Washington, D.C.
• “The unilateral deployment of these forces [federal law enforcement] into American cities is unprecedented and violates fundamental constitutional protections and tenets of federalism.”
• Expanding upon the defund the police rhetoric, a D.C. council member, Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), stripped the police department of $15 million.
• Allen went on to say, “There needs to be a significant rebalancing of how we use our public dollars to support and improve communities of black and brown residents away from policing and toward programs better suited for social challenges.”
• Then-D.C. Chief of Police Peter Newsham pushed back against this dangerous decision, stating, “There is concern that the D.C. Council is basing their budget decisions on a small percentage of the community that has been very vocal with anti-police rhetoric and that this could negatively impact the safety of our communities.”
• The chief warned that a smaller and less-funded force could hamper efforts to reduce crime and endanger training, which he says ultimately reduces police misconduct.
• Crime rates in Washington D.C. have only skyrocketed:
• Homicide in the city has risen 67% since 2020
• Robbery in the city has risen 52% since 2020

AN AMERICA FIRST SOLUTION TO LIBERAL VIOLENCE AND CIVIL UNREST

An America First approach to protecting our Nation’s communities from radical liberal violence and civil unrest requires the following:

• Accountability
  • Criminal perpetrators must be held accountable for their actions. Progressive criminal justice policies that coddle criminals will only make our communities more dangerous. Americans must insist on law and order, and that begins by ensuring criminals face consequences for their criminal behavior.
• Supporting Law Enforcement
  • Our Nation was founded upon the principle of the rule of law and that no one group of people is above the law in our society. Our country’s law enforcement community is tasked with upholding this foundational element of our society, and we must support them in their efforts to do so. Anti-police sentiment and calls to “defund the police” only undermine the law enforcement community and make our Nation less safe.
• Ending Abuse of the Criminal Justice System by Rogue Prosecutors
  • Rogue progressive prosecutors have systematically undermined public safety in the communities in which they have implemented their liberal progressive criminal justice policies. Americans must demand that their local criminal justice officials actually uphold the obligations of their office and ensure that criminal perpetrators are held to account for their actions.