Yes, We Prosecuted Rioters During Anti-Racism Protests
“But whatabout the Democrats not prosecuting BLM rioters?” -Every Trump supporter I have ever talked to about January 6
For four years, Democrats have continued to voice outrage over Trump supporters’ attack on the Capitol. In all that time, I have not heard a single politician, journalist or pundit suggest that, because Republicans give their leader a pass for causing a riot, Democratic leaders should allow their supporters to riot. Instead, Democrats have argued that using violence to win a political argument is an affront to the nation as a whole.
In other words, even if Democrats had given a pass to people who rioted during the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in 2020, it would not be a reason to give a pass to rightwing rioters. Instead, it would be a reason to demand the prosecution of all the rioters. Which is not what Trump or his followers have been doing.
Why? Maybe because the BLM rioters were prosecuted.
The Riots
After an unarmed African-American named George Floyd was killed on 25 May 2020 by Minneapolis police, protests against police brutality and racism broke out across the country. The protests were a continuation of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests that occurred several years earlier. According to a Harvard study, over 2.7 million people participated in nearly 12,000 “anti-racism events” in over 3,000 US cities and towns after the Floyd murder. In over 96% of the events, no property damage was reported.
While the typical protest occurred during daylight and involved no violence, riots that broke out in several cities at night caused extensive damage, perhaps as high as $2 billion in total. By far the worst occurred in Floyd’s home of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, where rioters damaged property in over 1,500 locations and “set fire to nearly 150 buildings, with dozens burned to the ground.” Many cities, such as New York, Los Angeles, and Saint Louis, also experienced widespread vandalism and violence. In Washington DC, vandalism (mostly smashed windows) and looting occurring in perhaps dozens of buildings. Across the country, hundreds of police were injured, with a few dozen suffering serious injuries. During the riots, a retired police officer was shot and killed during a burglary in Saint Louis, and an FBI agent was assassinated in Oakland CA.
As the Wall Street Journal reported, “Much of the destruction and theft appears to have been perpetrated by people who saw civil unrest as an opportunity to commit crimes with a low risk of being caught.” Other rioters had a range of political motives, from left-wing anarchists to the right-wing Air Force sergeant who pled guilty to the Oakland FBI murder. There was often a sharp divide between violent rioters and peaceful protesters, who in some cases tried to stop attacks on property or police, “ratcheting down tensions that might mar an otherwise peaceful protest.”
Some Arrest Statistics
There were arrests, many arrests.
USA Today reported over 10,000 arrests in May-June 2020. Most of these were for nonviolent crimes such as curfew violations and obstructing roadways, but by 4 June, hundreds of people were charged with burglary and looting. The Washington Post found that in over 7000 protests they analyzed, under 4% had any property damage but police made arrests in 5%.
By September 2021, the US Department of Justice had obtained 120 convictions and guilty pleas on “federal crimes including rioting, arson, and conspiracy.” At that point, 70 of the convicted felons had been sentenced, with an average of 27 months in prison. Ten perpetrators were sentenced to over 5 years in prison. Defense lawyers claimed that the Trump administration brought cases that should have been in state courts, where sentences “are typically lighter.” The Biden administration continued prosecuting these cases and brought new ones as well, often arguing for long prison time.
Three examples: James Vail threw a brick at an Albany police officer out of anger over racial injustice. He was sentenced to 4 years in state prison. Stephen Cannon was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the Saint Louis murder during a burglary. His attack seemed only peripherally related to the protests. The Oakland FBI agent was murdered by Stephen Carillo, who was motivated by his membership in the boogaloo movement, a pro-gun, anti-government right-wing movement which seeks to start a second Civil War. Contradicting the facts, Trump, Hannity, and others implied he was part of the anti-racism movement. Carillo pled guilty and was sentenced to life in federal prison.
Punishment in Minneapolis
One of the most infamous episodes of the 2020 riots was the burning of the Third Precinct police building in Minneapolis, where Derek Chauvin had worked. Four men pled guilty to federal arson charges, and were given prison sentences ranging from two and a quarter years to four years. A fifth man, Ivan Hunter – another boogaloo adherent – was sentenced to 4 years in federal prison for shooting into the Precinct, looting, and helping to set the fire.
Thirteen others pled guilty to federal arson charges for other fires during the Twin Cities riots. Some sentences included 3 years for two men who lit a bank on fire, 8.5 years in a plea bargain, and 10 years for arson of a pawn shop.
The Minnesota Reformer had an article about cases brought by local prosecutors for crimes committed during the riots. They point to the relatively small number of arson cases considering the extent of the fires, and suggest that the police department was simply too overwhelmed by the size of the riots to collect the evidence necessary to charge and convict. The Twin Cities area brought nearly 100 felony charges, mostly for “opportunistic burglars” looting during the riots.
The False Narrative
The entire “no one was punished for BLM riots” lie is part of a larger false narrative that portrays the January 6 attack as a tit-for-tat for “Democrat riots”. I would not have believed that anyone could come up with such a ludicrous comparison if I had not heard it repeated over and over by Republicans.
| Anti-Racism Riots | January 6 Riot |
| George Floyd was actually murdered by cops | No basis for claim that Biden stole election |
| Spontaneous national protests against prejudice and police brutality | March on Capitol 100% sponsored by Donald Trump |
| Rioters had private motives for crimes, including theft, excuse for violence | Rioters literally holding Trump flags while breaking into Capitol |
| Peaceful protesters begged rioters to stop, but were ignored | Trump waited hours to tell rioters to leave; when he finally did, they left |
| “there is no place for violence. No place for looting or destroying property or burning churches, or destroying businesses” -Joe Biden, 6/2/2020 | “We love you, you’re very special” -Donald Trump, 1/6/2021 |
Top photo: James Vail, pled guilty to assaulting a police officer during riot after Floyd murder, from Albany Times Union.