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Protesters blame Charlottesville police for not stopping violence

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bubbabgone

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Alt-right and white nationalist rallygoers are pointing fingers at the counterprotesters who showed up to denounce them. Anti-racist protesters say "Unite the Right" rally participants were yelling racial epithets and provoking confrontation.
But both sides agree that one group didn't do enough to prevent the violence as the crowds grew and tensions flared: the police.
Critics say both Charlottesville Police and Virginia State Police stood on the sidelines Saturday as skirmishes erupted between white nationalists and members of Antifa, a broad movement of left-leaning groups. The two groups confronted each other in Emancipation Park with shields and pepper spray.
...
Another protester, Hawk Newsome, president of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, told CNN affiliate WCAV the police response to "Unite the Right" was different than at rallies he's attended in the past. He said the police in Charlottesville were too far away to prevent any violence.
"The police actually allowed us to square off against each other," Newsome said. "There were fights and the police were standing a block away the entire time. It's almost as if they wanted us to fight each other."
Neither Charlottesville Police nor Virginia State Police immediately responded to CNN's requests for comment. The city of Charlottesville also did not respond.​
Protesters in Charlottesville blame police for violence - CNN


But here's something from the Police Chief in another source ...

The event also drew counter-protesters - and Thomas said the crowds became more aggressive and "mutually engaged combatants" became more violent.​
?Chartlottesville Police Chief: It was a tragic, tragic weekend

Sure seems like another example of things looking different after a couple of days.
 
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Still looks like the cops not doing their jobs to me.

"We were hoping for a peaceful event."

That is beyond naive. White supremacist rallies always draw counter-protesters. And any idiot knows what happens when you put Antifa and White Supremecists into the same place.

This was poor planning and execution by law enforcement.
 
The images between the law enforcement presence of somewhere like Ferguson, and the images in Charlottsville say a lot about how law enforcement treats groups differently.
 
Skeptic Bob said:
Still looks like the cops not doing their jobs to me.

"We were hoping for a peaceful event."

That is beyond naive. White supremacist rallies always draw counter-protesters. And any idiot knows what happens when you put Antifa and White Supremecists into the same place.

This was poor planning and execution by law enforcement.
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It was a bit more complicated than that.

Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe defended the actions taken Saturday by state and local law enforcement in response to clashes between white nationalist protesters and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, VA.

McAuliffe told The New York Times in an impromptu street interview Sunday morning that police in Charlottesville did their best considering the circumstances.

“It’s easy to criticize, but I can tell you this, 80% of the people here had semiautomatic weapons," McAuliffe said.
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Though McAuliffe strongly commended law enforcement's handling of the event, he appeared to suggest that police were unprepared for who actually showed up to the rally.

“You saw the militia walking down the street, you would have thought they were an army ... I was just talking to the State Police upstairs; [the militia members] had better equipment than our State Police had,” McAuliffe said. “And yet not a shot was fired, zero property damage.”
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VA governor defends Charlottesville response: Militia members had 'better' guns than police - Business Insider

militia.jpg
militia3.jpg
 
Your Star said:
The images between the law enforcement presence of somewhere like Ferguson, and the images in Charlottsville say a lot about how law enforcement treats groups differently.
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Was there looting and arson in Charlottsville?
 
They showed up in helmets with bats. Peace was clearly what they were looking for.
 
Skeptic Bob said:
Maybe I missed it but I didn't see the armed militia guys involved in any of the violence. They always show up at these things, keep their distance, and fail at trying to look cool.
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The logic is that the police were nervous about getting involved because the militia simply had better guns, and that any escalation would not favor them.

I really don't know how well that argument works when all the facts are taken into consideration, but that is the argument.
 
Cardinal said:
The logic is that the police were nervous about getting involved because the militia simply had better guns, and that any escalation would not favor them.

I really don't know how well that argument works when all the facts are taken into consideration, but that is the argument.
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I get that. And I can certainly understand being intimidated by a bunch of people with AR-15s. But my harsh response to that is: then don't become a cop. Because all that does is tell people if you want to keep the police away then simply exercise your 2nd Amendment right in large numbers. Cops need to know how to keep their cool and do their job even when nervous. It is not a job for everyone.
 
spud_meister said:
Was there looting and arson in Charlottsville?
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The police showed up in full riot gear at the start of those protests, way before anything untoward happened. They even showed up in that garb to completely peaceful protests, and seemed to escalate things on their own.

The only difference being is that those protesters were black, while these are white. I guarantee you, that if there were a black militia group, and they showed up armed like the ones in the pictures above, the response would not be so hands off.

It's pretty ****ing transparent.
 
Your Star said:
The police showed up in full riot gear at the start of those protests, way before anything untoward happened. They even showed up in that garb to completely peaceful protests, and seemed to escalate things on their own.

The only difference being is that those protesters were black, while these are white. I guarantee you, that if there were a black militia group, and they showed up armed like the ones in the pictures above, the response would not be so hands off.

It's pretty ****ing transparent.
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It's pretty ****ing irrelevant is what it is.

Ferguson is in Missouri.

Charlottesville is in Virginia.

They are two different cities in two different states with different local and state police forces.

Your comparison has no validity as anything other than a pitiful attempt at a game of "spot the bigot".
 
The cops were told to stand down by the Democrat mayor. He has blood on his hands.
 
Skeptic Bob said:
Still looks like the cops not doing their jobs to me.

"We were hoping for a peaceful event."

That is beyond naive. White supremacist rallies always draw counter-protesters. And any idiot knows what happens when you put Antifa and White Supremecists into the same place.

This was poor planning and execution by law enforcement.
Click to expand...

This was not a "white supremacist" rally. Sheesh, some people just eat everything the media feeds them. It was a protest against the removal of a statue.
 
On the face of it, this sounds like the classic no-win situation for the police. If they had got more directly involved, they would have inevitably become the focus of violence themselves and then been blamed by both sides for being too heavy handed and confrontational. There are clearly lots of people who wish to direct negative attention from their “side” and condemning the police and the authorities in general is much less controversial common ground for them all.

At the end of the day, the only people responsible for the violence are the violent people.
 
HonestJoe said:
At the end of the day, the only people responsible for the violence are the violent people.
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Yes, and when the president denounced everybody there, that wasn't good enough for the frenzied left wing media who wanted him to take sides.
 
Indian Giver said:
This was not a "white supremacist" rally. Sheesh, some people just eat everything the media feeds them. It was a protest against the removal of a statue.
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Rally, as in "a gathering of".
 
Your Star said:
The police showed up in full riot gear at the start of those protests, way before anything untoward happened. They even showed up in that garb to completely peaceful protests, and seemed to escalate things on their own.

The only difference being is that those protesters were black, while these are white. I guarantee you, that if there were a black militia group, and they showed up armed like the ones in the pictures above, the response would not be so hands off.

It's pretty ****ing transparent.
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BLM was one of the counter"protest" groups in Charlottesville, as noted in #1.
Your attempted whitewash (heh heh) of one of the 2 opposing collections of violent idiots in Charlottesville is what's pretty ****ing transparent.
 
Your Star said:
The police showed up in full riot gear at the start of those protests, way before anything untoward happened. They even showed up in that garb to completely peaceful protests, and seemed to escalate things on their own.

The only difference being is that those protesters were black, while these are white. I guarantee you, that if there were a black militia group, and they showed up armed like the ones in the pictures above, the response would not be so hands off.

It's pretty ****ing transparent.
Click to expand...

That isn't true. A couple of businesses had already been burned down by rioters on the first night.
 
Indian Giver said:
Do you think wanting the statue to remain makes one a white supremacist?
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No. I think being a self professed member of the KKK or the Neo Nazis makes you a white supremacist. As these folks were.
 
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