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Democratic Governor Explicitly Calls for ‘Mass Protests’ and ‘Disruption’ (VIDEO)

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Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called for “mass protests” and “disruptions” against Republicans during a speech Sunday to his fellow Democrats.

Pritzker made the call for political mobilization at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner, The Hill reported.

(Read more from “Democratic Governor Explicitly Calls for ‘Mass Protests’ and ‘Disruption’” HERE)

Photo credit: Susan Stephens, WNIJ via Flickr

Pro-Democracy Protests Turn Deadly in African Nation

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Pro-democracy protests in Chad turned deadly amid clashes on Thursday between protestors and security forces.

Newly-appointed Prime Minster Saleh Kebzabo said the protests, which took place in the capital of N’Djamena and several other cities, led to 50 deaths and 300 injuries, according to Reuters. The process of compiling casualties remains ongoing.

The protests centered around frustration over the decision of Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno to delay a transition to democracy in the African nation, according to Reuters. Thursday was originally supposed to mark the end of the transitional period. . .

The International Federation for Human Rights and associated organizations in Chad outlined reports of violent repression on the part of governmental security forces involving the use of live bullets along with the arbitrary detention and torture of protestors, Reuters reported.

Four people died outside the U.S. embassy in N’Djamena, the BBC reported. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price in a statement condemned the violence in Chad and emphasized American support for a peaceful transition to democracy in the country. (Read more from “Pro-Democracy Protests Turn Deadly in African Nation” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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Grand Jury Indicts The McCloskeys

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A St. Louis grand jury has indicted Mark and Patricia McCloskey on two counts each: exhibiting a weapon and tampering with evidence.

The couple appeared before a judge Tuesday, who continued their hearing until Oct. 14, saying the grand jury needed more time to deliberate.

The couple’s attorney, Joel Schwartz, said he was told the grand jury reached a decision to indict his clients Tuesday afternoon. Their cases have been assigned to judges Michael Stelzer and Thomas Clark.

The next step will be arraignments, where the McCloskeys will enter a plea to the charges issued against them.

The indictment means prosecutors convinced a grand jury they have enough evidence against the McCloskeys to proceed to trial. (Read more from “Grand Jury Indicts The McCloskeys” HERE)

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WATCH: Now ‘Peaceful Protesters’ Are Burning Bibles; Portland Riot Sees 150-Round Shooting at Apartment Building

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By The Federalist. While rioters previously attacked federal buildings, businesses, and even officers, this weekend, they found a new target: Bibles.

A video posted to Twitter on Saturday shows rioters holding Black Lives Matter signs tossing Bibles into a fire. Bystanders stood and watched as the flames licked away at the pages of the books. . .

Donald Trump Jr. also commented on the video criticizing it as an escalation of Antifa.

(Read more from “WATCH: Now ‘Peaceful Protesters’ Are Burning Bibles” HERE)

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Portland Sees 150-Round Shooting at Apartment Building, as Crowds Continue Violent Clashes With Police

By Fox News. More than 150 rounds were fired and one woman was shot in Portland on Friday night while protesters on Saturday – some of whom appeared to impersonate press – threw glass bottles and shined lasers at city police officers sent to quell the nighttime unrest witnessed for more than two months straight.

Saturday marked the third night of federal and state law enforcement cooperation in Portland, as the Department of Homeland Security continues to weigh plans to withdraw from the liberal Oregon city. It was the 64th straight day of violent demonstrations and rioting in Portland.

A shooting rang out about 11:08 p.m. Friday outside an apartment building near the 600 Block of NE 87th Avenue. The Portland Police Bureau said in an update Saturday that more than 150 rounds were fired and bullets struck at least eight occupied apartments and seven vehicles. One round struck a woman in the arm, and responding officers applied a tourniquet before she was transported to the hospital by ambulance with injuries that were not life-threatening.

“This is America and it’s a war zone with 150 shots in an apartment complex close to a Christian university. How can we explain that?” Aragon Marks, who lives at the building, told Fox 12 Oregon. (Read more from “Portland Sees 150-Round Shooting at Apartment Building, as Crowds Continue Violent Clashes With Police” HERE)

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This Is What Top Democrats Say About Federal Law Enforcement Help for Their Cities

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Democratic mayors and other leaders of some large cities have grown edgier in opposing President Donald Trump’s push to use federal agents to quell violence, using terms such as “resist” and “fascist.”

Some elected Democrats in affected cities have vowed to sue and even arrest federal agents as they criticize federal action to protect government property in Portland, Oregon.

For “Operation Legend,” the White House has announced plans to send federal law enforcement officials to Chicago; Kansas City, Missouri; and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Over the next three weeks, the Justice Department intends to expand the effort into Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee.

Democratic mayors and other leaders in these and other cities mostly object, according to news reports.

Trying to meet with demonstrators Wednesday night in Portland, Mayor Ted Wheeler was booed and told to resign by the crowd and overcome by tear gas deployed by federal agents to control the situation. Wheeler said he was “pissed off” and called the situation “flat-out urban warfare” wrought by the president.

Cities across the nation have seen various levels of unrest and violence since the May 25 death of a black man, George Floyd, in police custody in Minneapolis.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who heads one of America’s most violent cities, previously opposed intervention by federal officials. However, after Trump’s announcement Wednesday of “Operation Legend,” Lightfoot offered a more diplomatic comment.

“I’ve been very clear that we welcome actual partnership,” Lightfoot said. “But we do not welcome dictatorship. We do not welcome authoritarianism, and we do not welcome unconstitutional arrest and detainment of our residents. That is something I will not tolerate.”

Leo Schmitz, chief of public safety at the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, attended the White House event Wednesday announcing “Operation Legend.” His jurisdiction includes Chicago.

Before his announcement on putting down violent crime in cities, Trump had mentioned the possibility of sending federal law enforcement to New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore, and Oakland, California, which are among U.S. cities with the highest crime rates.

“I’m going to do something—that I can tell you,” Trump told reporters Monday in the Oval Office. “Because we’re not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of these—Oakland is a mess. We’re not going to let this happen in our country. All run by liberal Democrats.”

That same day, Philadelphia officials provided some of the most aggressive rhetoric, even threatening to arrest federal officials in the city, making fascist comparisons, and vowing to “resist.”

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said: “My dad volunteered and served in World War II to fight fascism, like most of my uncles, so we would not have an American president brutalizing and kidnapping Americans for exercising their constitutional rights and trying to make America a better place, which is what patriots do.”

“Anyone, including federal law enforcement, who unlawfully assaults and kidnaps people will face criminal charges from my office. At trial, they will face a Philadelphia jury,” added Krasner, who was elected in 2018 with the help of a super PAC funded by liberal billionaire George Soros. “It’s the least we can do to honor those who fought fascism, including those who are fighting it even now.”

In another interview with Democracy Now, Krasner said:

These are Pennsylvania offenses over which the district attorney in Philly has jurisdiction over that area, and we can bring those charges. The law is very clear. We can proceed with those charges in state court. Under certain circumstances, they might end up being processed in federal court. But, initially, we can bring those charges. We can pursue them. And as much as possible, we can put those individuals in front of a Philadelphia jury, who might have something to say about those tactics. …

I would say President Trump is definitely a wannabe fascist. I’m not sure he can spell the word, but he definitely is someone who’s in love with dictators.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney didn’t push back quite as hard, but still resisted the idea of federal law enforcement assistance.

“The president’s threat is wrong on many levels,” Kenney said. “To send federal agents to police U.S. cities that have not requested such aid can only impede the work of local governments and exacerbate already heightened tensions in these cities. And to target cities that are led by Democratic mayors is clearly a politicization of federal resources that should outrage all taxpayers.”

“While the city of Philadelphia has not received any formal notification that federal agents will be sent here,” the mayor said, “we would use all available means to resist such a wrongheaded effort and abuse of power.”

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that the city would sue to keep federal law enforcement out, Fox News reported.

“I want to be very, very clear that we will not allow this to happen,” de Blasio said, adding: “We are New Yorkers and we won’t take lightly if we see federal officers in New York City. If we do, we’ll be in court.”

Trump said “Operation Legend” is named for 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro of Kansas City, who was shot and killed in late June. His killer hasn’t been found.

Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith was among those attending the White House event Wednesday where Trump announced the operation.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, however, called the law enforcement initiative “dog-whistling.”

“What we don’t support is an expanded and broadened mission, which is what we’ve seen in Portland and what we’ve seen hinted at in interviews from the president that look like a federal takeover of policing in Kansas City,” Lucas said, according to The Kansas City Star.

Sheriff Manuel Gonzales of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, a top law enforcement official in the Albuquerque area, also attended the White House event.

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, however, told CNN that the law enforcement operation is “about inciting violence.”

“You almost know that something is up because one, the president is talking about Albuquerque, which doesn’t usually happen,” Keller said, “but two, we’ve been told nothing and usually we get formal MOUs [memos of understanding], we get details, there’s task forces that are put in place. We have received no formal documentation on this at all.”

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said a federal presence would be divisive, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported.

“With few exceptions, protests in Milwaukee have been peaceful,” Barrett said in a statement. “It is preposterous to suggest Milwaukee needs federal agents to quell unrest or manage peaceful protests. Their presence at this time could be counterproductive.”

After Trump named Cleveland as one city that would get assistance from federal law enforcement, Mayor Frank Jackson’s administration told the Plain Dealer newspaper that it “has not been made aware of any additional federal law enforcement resources coming to the city.”

“The Cleveland Division of Police has in the past and will continue to partner with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to combat violent crime in our neighborhoods,” the statement reads. “In [December], the Division of Police announced the Relentless Pursuit initiative, which is designed to combat violent crimes in our neighborhoods with our federal, state and local partners.”

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan told local media: “Early on, we made the decision [that] the bond between the Detroit Police Department and the community was strong enough we could handle the protests ourselves.”

Separately, Duggan issued a joint statement with Detroit Police Chief James Craig opposing federal assistance, which said:

There could be no possible justification for such an action. The Detroit Police Department has had the support of the Detroit community in making sure our city did not have a single store looted or a single fire started during the protests.

Unlike nearly every other major city in the country, the Detroit Police Department never requested assistance from the National Guard–we handled our issues as a community. We definitely have no need for any federal presence being sent in now.

Although Trump mentioned Baltimore earlier this week, a spokesman for Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young told the Baltimore Sun that the city had no indication that the Trump administration had moved on any plans to send federal law enforcement.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf accused Trump of trying to distract Americans from COVID-19.

“I don’t need law enforcement in Oakland; I need testing, I need personal protective equipment,” Schaaf said. “We need direct income support for people who are out of work, that’s what we need. This president seems to confuse a political bent.” (For more from the author of “This Is What Top Democrats Say About Federal Law Enforcement Help for Their Cities” please click HERE)

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WATCH: Black Man With American Flag Stands Against Rioters Tearing Down Fence; How Bad Are the Portland Riots? Footage Provides a Terrifying Insight

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By Fox News. A Black man carrying an American flag stood outside Portland’s Federal Courthouse Saturday night, telling a crowd of protesters that “none of you guys represent Black lives” as they tore down a fence during the city’s sixth straight week of nightly unrest.

Jorge Ventura, a reporter with the Daily Caller, captured video of the unnamed man sitting outside the courthouse when demonstrators began to remove the fencing surrounding the already vandalized and spray-painted building.

[Warning: video contains explicit language.]

The man, wearing a face mask and holding an American flag, can be heard telling protesters that he lives in Portland as they ask him to move so they can occupy the steps of the courthouse. He asks protesters “why” they are taking down the fence.

“If you stand for justice come here and stand with me, stand with me because I stand for justice,” the man says in the video. “I’m not here to tear down this f—– fence, I’m not here to spray-paint.”

“It’s going on every day,” he continues. “If you don’t want to get gassed, stop! It has to stop!” (Read more from “WATCH: Black Man With American Flag Stands Against Rioters Tearing Down Fence” HERE)

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How Bad Are the Portland Riots? On-The-Ground Footage Provides an Insight

By Townhall. Saturday night marked the 50th straight day that “protests” have taken place in Portland, Oregon. These so-called protests were labeled a riot late Saturday night as people – which looks to be a combination of Antifa and Black Lives Matter – demolished federal buildings and set fire to the Portland Police Association Headquarters building.

(Read more from “How Bad Are the Portland Riots? On-The-Ground Footage Provides an Insight” HERE)

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Leaked Emails Show Democrats Planning Nationwide Protests, Here’s the Ridiculous Reason Why

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Democrats believe President Donald Trump will take action to stop the Russia investigation this weekend and are contacting local organizers around the country to plan protests, leaked emails to The Daily Caller News Foundation show.

Connecticut Democratic Rep. Jim Himes sent an email out to field organizers in Norwalk and other towns in his home state Friday outlining his concerns that the president will fire either Attorney General Jeff Session, FBI Director Rod Rosenstein, or special counsel Robert Mueller . . .

The leaked email, authored personally by Himes, says that the congressman believes “that in the next 48 hours, it is more likely than not that the President acts against Attorney General Sessions, Deputy AG Rosenstein, and/or Special Counsel Mueller. His intent will be to end Mueller’s investigation.” . . .

“In both cases, constitutional order and rule of law are at stake. As a consequence, it is important that we speak and act in a coordinated manner,” Himes wrote to Connecticut party officials, referencing the need for organizers to begin planning.

In the case of the president ending Mueller’s investigation, Himes told confidants that “Congress must act immediately to require the preservation of all documents and work product, and to re-establish the investigation via statue,” adding that “this must be the sole initial priority.” (Read more from “Leaked Emails Show Democrats Planning Nationwide Protests, Here’s the Ridiculous Reason Why” HERE)

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These Protesters Finally Prove Trump Right – They Got Paid

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Organizers with the left-leaning group Housing Works told protesters they must “risk arrest” in order to be reimbursed for airfare to Washington, D.C., according to an internal email obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.

“We will transport, house and feed you, and deal with all legal support. Caveat: if you are far away from DC and expensive to transport, we can probably only fly you if you can risk arrest,” the internal email told supporters.

The group organized a large protest on Capitol Hill against the Republican-led Tax Reform measure in the Senate Tuesday, and will return Thursday, Dec. 5 to ensure that the measure doesn’t pass the upper chamber of Congress.

“The Rs voted and fled the room, but were snagged by reporters in the hallway, surrounded by bird-doggers, and shamed for their disgraceful votes,” the group said about the protests.

Housing Works is based out of New York City, and aims to further the health of the LGBTQ community, according to the group’s website. (Read more from “These Protesters Finally Prove Trump Right – They Got Paid” HERE)

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Protests and News of Protests: The Noisiness of Negativity

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I’ve been watching the AP Exchange this morning — the behind-the-scenes site where news organizations pick up Associated Press stories for republication. It’s been nothing but grim there on this first day following Donald Trump’s inauguration. The world is “jittery,” says AP, virtually without exception around the globe. Women are protesting today in Washington. And in Prague. And in Copenhagen. And in Stockholm. …

Trump has been in office less than a day and already everyone hates him, right? Wrong.

Democracy comes in many flavors. One of them is the protest gathering. Protest can be a legitimate form of civil expression, if indeed it remains civil. But to really measure the mood of the people, it’s hard to beat an old-fashioned election.

Trump won in November. Why? Because enough people in enough states chose him over his challengers. Sure, he did better among men, but he still couldn’t have won without substantial numbers of women voting for him, including 53 percent of white women.

Likewise the global scene is more diverse than some news reports might lead you to believe. I surveyed major news sources from several countries this morning, and found only a minority of them raising cries of alarm.

Negativity’s Noisiness

But the media’s negativity is to be expected. It isn’t just that they have a bias against Trump, though of course they do; it’s also that just as anger is noisier than love, so also complaints naturally run louder than words of appreciation.

Social researchers are well aware of “negativity bias” in surveys. Ask a group of people to fill check boxes to express their opinions and you’ll probably get a balanced response that represents the mood of the whole group. Ask them to write open-ended comments, though, and you’ll hear a flood of negativity.

But you knew this already anyway. When are you most likely to speak up, to contact a store manager, for example? Once in a restaurant I asked our server to bring his manager to the table. He blanched in fear; I let him suffer with it. (I suppose that was not entirely kind of me.) Then I asked him to listen as I told his boss how greatly we appreciated his exceptionally good service. He wasn’t expecting that – because he knew how seldom people will register any opinion other than a complaint.

The beauty of elections is that they’re like the check-boxes on those surveys. They may be quiet — but they’re effective. They measure the mood of the people a lot better than either post-election celebrations or protests.

The protests will continue, but don’t let their noise obscure the rest of the news. When the country was asked who we wanted to be president, we chose Donald Trump. (For more from the author of “Protests and News of Protests: The Noisiness of Negativity” please click HERE)

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Left Reacts With Violence, Death Threats After Trump Win

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Ironically, some protesters carry signs that say “Love trumps hate” and “Love always wins” — while many of their fellow protesters riot, smash windows, attack bystanders, block traffic and vandalize cars and property.

Chanting “Not my president!,” the protesters reject the election of Donald Trump because they disagree with him, even though he was legally elected. “You got climate change, you got the Iran deal. You got gay rights, you got mass deportations. Just everything, straight up and down the line, the guy is wrong on every issue,” said one protester outside the Trump Tower in New York City. However, what many protesters really want is to force local changes like rent control — if they want anything at all besides the pleasures of violent protest.

It’s possible that others manipulate the rioters for their own purposes. Many of the demonstrators are funded by wealthy activists like left-wing billionaire George Soros, recruited through ads on Craigslist. Since the election, new ads have been posted that say things like, “Be Civil, but Don’t Back Down.” Todd Walther, spokesman for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police, told CNN that 70 percent of those arrested in Charlotte had out-of-state IDs. Blocks of buses were caught on video in Chicago busing in protesters from Wisconsin.

Portland and Los Angeles

The worst violence has taken place in Portland, Oregon. On Thursday, over 4,000 demonstrators showed up to riot, setting a dumpster on fire and vandalizing 19 cars at a dealership in Northeast Portland. Anarchists joined the protest and vandalized buildings, kicked cars, attacked drivers, and knocked out power. One driver reported her windshield smashed. Many were armed with bats and threw projectiles at police officers.

By 8:30 p.m., police labeled it a riot. The Oregon State Department of Transportation was forced to shut down parts of Interstates 5 and 84 for awhile. The protesters refused to disband when asked by police, and over 26 people were arrested. The groups included Don’t Shoot Portland and Black Lives Matter, which combined in Portland to become a new group called “Portland’s Resistance.”

Portland’s Resistance issued a list of demands after the rioting, which include, “An acknowledgement of Portland’s racist past and concrete steps to rectify that sad truth,” “An acknowledgement that we are living on stolen land and efforts to rectify that fact,” and “Rent control and an end to no cause evictions.”

In Los Angeles, hundreds of protesters marched onto the busy 101 freeway Thursday night, bringing traffic to a stop. They vandalized property, threw bottles and launched fireworks. They burned a giant papier-mache Trump head. A woman in Los Angeles assaulted a police officer, hitting him on the head with handcuffs. On Wednesday night, 28 were arrested. On Sunday, the number of demonstrators swelled to 8,000.

On Friday evening, police reported burning projectiles and bottles thrown at them and graffiti spray-painted. Interstate 5 was closed in two places. Around midnight on Friday, a demonstrator in Portland was shot by an 18-year-old man “wearing black, dark hoodie and saggy blue jeans” who was angry about traffic being stalled. Another 71 were arrested Saturday evening, mostly for disorderly conduct, with 67 booked into jail overnight.

Oakland, Seattle, Indianapolis and Other Cities

Though the protests in Portland and Los Angeles have gotten much of the media’s attention, protests in cities all across the country are descending into violence.

Protesters in Oakland started fires in street intersections and in dumpsters. One led to the closure of a Bay Area Rapid Transit station. Buildings were smashed, and a federal building was set on fire. “Full communism” was spray painted on a Wells Fargo bank in downtown Oakland. Protesters smashed a police car and put it on fire.

Only about 100 protesters showed up to riot in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, but they were violent. According to KIRO 7, “they set fires, blocked traffic and threw bottles.”

Two police officers were injured by protesters throwing rocks and seven people arrested on Saturday evening in Indianapolis. In Denver, protesters briefly shut down an interstate. The protest in New York City on Tuesday outside of Trump Tower swelled Wednesday night to 100,000, and Friday evening police arrested 11 people for disorderly conduct. A Black Lives Matter ‘anti-bullying’ advocate pushed an elderly Trump supporter to ground, cutting his head, outside Trump Tower in NYC.

So many protesters hit the streets in downtown Chicago on Wednesday that the area was “shut down.” Protesters stopped traffic on Interstate 95 in Miami. Protesters blocked traffic in Madison, Wisconsin and Interstate 80 near Iowa City. In New Orleans, the famous Lee Circle monument was completely covered in graffiti, and the phrase “Die whites die” spray painted in surrounding areas. An effigy of Trump was burned and a bank’s windows shattered.

In Oakland, demonstrators spray painted “Kill Trump” graffiti. Demonstrators in Dallas dragged and kicked an effigy of Trump and smashed windows. Protesters in Philadelphia say they intend to continue demonstrating every day until Trump’s inauguration.

Violent Incidents and Threats

Though the protests have gotten most attention, individuals in other places have suffered acts of anti-Trump violence. Here are some examples:

A high school girl near San Francisco was beaten to the ground by another girl after she posted her support of Trump on Instagram.

A mob of young black men beat a white man in Chicago reportedly because they believed he had voted for Trump, then dragged him through the streets hanging out the back of his car.

An 11-year-old boy in Texas was attacked by classmates after telling them he voted for Trump in the class mock election, putting him in crutches.

A Latina woman in California said on live CNN that “people have to die.”

Calls have been made on Twitter to assassinate Trump.

At the same time, Trump opponents are making up incidents of violence by Trump supporters — and getting caught fabricating them. A Muslim student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette admitted to police that she made up a story about having her hijab ripped off and wallet stolen by two white male Trump supporters.

Trump and Obama Respond

Trump expressed his disappointment, tweeting, “[P]rofessional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!” Rudy Giuliani described the demonstrators as “a bunch of spoiled cry-babies.” Bill Bennett described the riots as a “tantrum [that] our gal lost, so we’re going to protest.” Breitbart sarcastically characterized the protests as “triggered.”

President Obama could call on the rioters to stop the violence, but hasn’t. Considering most of the rioting is taking place in the downtown areas of large, blue cities, the demonstrators are primarily causing damage to themselves. (For more from the author of “Left Reacts With Violence, Death Threats After Trump Win” please click HERE)

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