AMAC Exclusive – By Andrew Abbott
Late last month, South Pasadena, California, became the latest city to announce that it would issue lucrative payouts to Black Lives Matter protestors who are accusing the police department of not “protecting” them during protests in 2020 – when they were ironically calling for defunding the police. But while liberal city governments are obediently handing over millions of taxpayer dollars to Marxist “mostly peaceful” demonstrators, conservative demonstrators have been the target of relentless persecution from Democrat elected officials and even federal law enforcement agencies.
South Pasadena officials said on April 27 that they will pay $500,000 to settle a civil rights lawsuit brought by two leaders of BLM South Pasadena. The lawsuit alleges that, while the protestors were calling for the elimination of the city’s police department, police officers present failed to protect the protestors from counter-demonstrators, further asserting that officers were “hostile” and “dismissive.”
In March, New York City also agreed to pay hundreds of BLM marchers more than $20,000 each to settle another lawsuit – potentially costing the city up to $6 million. In legal filings, BLM leaders allege that police “boxed in, pepper sprayed, and zip-tied 300 protestors” during a June 2020 demonstration that notably occurred in the middle of weeks of rioting and looting that destroyed dozens of businesses throughout the city.
A few weeks later, Philadelphia announced a $9.25 million settlement with another 343 BLM protesters. On June 1, 2020, these protesters swarmed the interstate, shutting down traffic and creating a significant public safety hazard. In a lawsuit, the protesters asserted that the police were too “aggressive” in moving them off the interstate and out of the city.
The Philadelphia city government will also provide over $500,000 in “mental health counseling” for residents who were “traumatized” by police activities in defense of their communities.
The snowball effect continued a few days after Philadelphia’s protestor payout when a Colorado jury also awarded $14 million to BLM protestors who clashed with police in Denver in 2020.
In all of these cases, the “protests” in question often devolved into riots, and instances of protestor-on-protestor and protestor-on-police violence were common.
In Manhattan alone, BLM “protestors” caused tens of millions of dollars in damage – a fact that calls into question the protestors’ portrayal of themselves as innocent victims of police brutality. Nationwide, the BLM “demonstrations” led to $2 billion in damage and 18 deaths – yet it is now the supposedly “peaceful” protestors who are receiving payouts.
Meanwhile, as Democrats at the local level are busy issuing handouts to the “protestors” who looted, sacked, and burned their communities, Democrats and leftist bureaucrats in the federal government are targeting conservatives for engaging in legitimate nonviolent protests.
There is no clearer example of this than pro-life activist Mark Houck. In 2021, Houck, a father of seven, was praying outside an abortion clinic when a pro-abortion activist began shouting obscenities in the face of Houck’s 12-year-old son.
In response, Houck shoved the man to the ground and left. After multiple Democrat prosecutors declined to file charges, the Biden Department of Justice launched a federal investigation into Houck, culminating in a dawn FBI raid of his Philadelphia home last September, where more than 20 fully-armed agents arrested Houck in front of his family.
After a judge explicitly told prosecutors that they had no case, a jury returned a verdict of not guilty. But the message from the Biden administration was clear: if you publicly express your pro-life views, the FBI may try to destroy your life.
While Biden’s FBI is busy targeting pro-life activists, they have also failed to deliver even one conviction in the dozens of attacks on crisis pregnancy centers throughout the country in recent months. Churches have also been vandalized with anti-religious graffiti in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, with no concern from Biden’s Department of Justice.
In several cases, a radical pro-abortion organization called “Jane’s Revenge” has even claimed credit for the attacks – yet the FBI has offered no indication that they intend to pursue any sort of investigation into the group or its leaders.
The left’s double standard of justice has also been laid bare through the treatment of individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol riot. Although some January 6 protestors undoubtedly broke the law, it is impossible to ignore the discrepancy in the treatment of BLM protestors, who are now receiving payouts from city governments, and January 6 protestors, who were often held in solitary confinement for months, denied bail, and have been the target of unending media scrutiny.
House Republicans have already made moves to further expose the left’s hypocrisy through the creation of a select committee on the weaponization of the federal government. Without serious reforms and the de-politicization of the justice system generally, it is likely that Americans’ confidence in the principle of equality under the law will continue to falter.
Andrew Abbott is the pen name of a writer and public affairs consultant with over a decade of experience in DC at the intersection of politics and culture.
As long as voters keep electing Democrats, none of our Constitutional Rights are secure. The communist Democrat Party regards the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as nothing more than toilet paper. Never vote for a Democrat at any level of government or you will eventually become a slave.
This President and his Administration are the WORST. I honestly don’t know if the damage they caused can be reversed , after we retire the entire useless bunch i n November 2024. The Biden Sh*thole (country) is beginning to form.
why would any state pay money to a group of criminals. I do not understand this type of thinking. it is totally stupid!!!!!!
Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?! I don’t believe this is the American way or the American dream.
I am grateful that God is my supreme leader. God knows our hearts and to have to stand before Him on the last day to give account of my life. I am not ashamed of the love of God; the only true and just judge of mankind. Oh yeah I forgot the definition of FAIR—-good for you and bad for me.
Clearly the author does not understand what is going on in each of these examples. This is what the left calls “economic and social justice”. They’ve been advocating for this nonsense for decades, with the general public paying very little attention to this Marxist ideology. Certain “protected or under-served classes”, using the definitions established by the left in terms of identity politics and DEI, create special rules for these members of society. They are exempt from the “rule of law” that ordinary citizens are held to and any other normal conventions of society that might exist. Especially when it comes to how they choose to express themselves. As such, any sort of violent “protest”, property destruction or overt criminal activity is expected to be not only excused but openly tolerated as “their right” under these special exemptions that exist just for them.
This is NOT something that will simply be addressed by some piece of legislation crafted by Congress. Our law enforcement and most of our court systems have been heavily infiltrated or taken over by like-minded fellow leftists at the top in many cases. So the action required to reverse this growing trend entails removing those individuals from their positions of power to restore the integrity of the judicial system. That’s not something any piece of legislation is going to achieve. Sorry, but that is just reality.
NO end this BS
Bias
Damn 2 tier Justice system
Thank Biden & Dems OK & those WHO Voted for them
And they wonder why I hate paying taxes.
Well the only equalizer to the leftist his death . you don’t believe in God or the Bible good luck when you passed from this life to the next . my Bible says God’s gonna create a new heaven and new earth and Marxists are thinking that they’re going to destroy God if he created them how are they going to do that and as far as being Christian it’s a badge of honor. I believe in God’s word because , all the negative racist evil comments Mean little in the light of eternity when you have to face your creator and give an account for what you did in your life.
that Civil wars off to a rocky start.
Can we detonate some underground nuclear bombs within the San Andreas fault and eliminate these demented californican Marxists right into the Pacific?!?!
Evil expletives running Commiefornia…insurrection and chaos is supported, bad is rewarded,
If we follow the paths of the DEFUND THE POLICE demonstrators it is clear who run the anarchism we are facing from what, perhaps 25% of the population? Something is very wrong with allowing a heavily financed militia of 20+% run our government. Vote with your common sense people.
If black man is fed up with white supremacy and racism and wants the end of it, all he has to do is to look at Africa That would be the future China might have a different idea In that case the white man would be remembered fondly
Just look at what Nancy Pelosi did to her district San Francisco. This woman made millions and never cared a bean about the taxpayers. San Francisco is in ruin, because of her.
Whaaaat, you’re surprised? . . . To Democrats, Conservatives ARE Marxists! This is just another example of the Dumb leading the Dumber!
If you are not woke a dem a BLM supporter belong to Antifa are black or brown you will be persecuted for just existing.
This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever read. We who are being attacked and our businesses are being burned down are paying the perps for doing it. Tyranny and intimidation. I had not heard anything about this. After reading this I became physically ill that this has happened in America. People we are lost. Total control by the communists. America is destroyed. And we have lost our rights.
THE DOMESTIC TERRORISTS, blm AND antifa, NEED TO B SENT TO THE NEW AUSCHWITZ 2 B BAKED IN THE STATE OF THE ART OVENS
Democrats seem to always be on the wrong side of everything!!! They protect their own while sometimes eating their own which tells me that they cannot be trusted!!! Democrats are doing their best to further the racism issue instead of healing the generational anger that IS the true racism in this country!! As long as Democrats have any say in anything, we will never heal and racism will just bounce from one race to another!!!
Demoncrats need to be abolished and blm should go with them. They all are a drain on society.
Keep such s___ going. Vote Democratic. Kyle L.
First, I don’t advocate violence because I don’t want to become like them. Revenge is mine, saith the Lord. Yes, I believe they are just plain evil- to advocate ripping apart your children so you can have 10 minutes of pleasure with no consequences and then if they do survive to advocate having their bodies mutilated later on, is evil. The Democrats from the top down are for the violent criminal and not for the victim. I was robbed in December in Austin in a supposedly “secure” area. I have a photo on my phone of the criminal’s truck and his license plate. The police have the information also- which means that they know the address of the person who owns the truck. They also know that he robbed at least 7 people within a 24 hour period. Nothing has been done. It is okay for young guys to rob women in their 70s with no consequences. At least I wasn’t violently thrown to the pavement like an even older lady I know whose purse was stolen. Then just a month ago my son was robbed with a gun to his head by three masked men in San Antonio, who got his concealed weapon and both family cars. But there is more to that story- they took his car keys and one car only. The police told my son and his wife that they had to ride in the police car to go to the station to file a report. He insisted that he had another key in the house and could follow them. They insisted he had to go in the police car. But he didn’t want to leave his second car because the thieves had the key. The police insisted they would not return for the second car. You guessed it! When they got back from filing the report, my daughter in law exclaimed, “ Where is our car?” Not only that, my son was paying OnStar to track his car, and they said their computers went down! So because of the police in San Antonio not letting him take his vehicle when the thieves had his keys, he now lost 2 cars and had no transportation to get to work. It has been a month and neither car has been found. He has been robbed at least 4 times in San Antonio and no one has ever been arrested. They say, as in my case when they even have the address for the white Dodge Ram truck with a hitch that was used in several robberies, that they are short on help ( true- liberal cities defund the police ) , but they are never short on help when it comes to arresting someone who speaks against abortion or mutilating children. Sadly, the Democrats are still winning races because Republicans think they need to compromise to win. It doesn’t work. Look at Oz and who beat him.
Corrupt criminal democrats protecting criminals.
Soros backed AG in St. Louis won’t even charge a Shooter caught on video with Live witnesses.
Soros backed AG Bragg won’t even charge a Murderer.
WEAPONIZED DOJ and FBI won’t even charge Hunter biden being protected by The Big Guy.
Bottom line is that the criminals being rewarded are backed by Beijing biden, Soros and Communist China.
Black Lives Matter Protesters are paid to protest and commit property crime. They should be arrested as domestic terrorists. They are thugs and Thug Lives Do Not Matter!
Looks like taxpayer revolt is the only solution. Politicians are not elected to be paymasters to ether side for illegal protest rioting and destruction.
The Chinese are expanding because they use their cheap labor to make riches and raid established western businesses then buy the politicians and move in on the working class. This is being perpetrated all over the world. I’ll be willing to bet DC is awash with Chinese money. At one time the FBI chased the Chinese associates of the Clintons out of the country but now their back since Obama. This money is being funneled to the anarchist, anti religious and politicians and now to avert the FBI. The foolish don’t realize or don’t care that soon they will become the eaten by their new masters. Ask Biden, he knows.
This has been going on for more than 50 years, starting with the advent of the welfare state. Most of the people collecting welfare benefits are democrats, while most of the people paying into welfare programs are Republicans.
After major events like the pandemic, democratic states get HUGE payouts (states like Illinois got more than enough to pay their massive debt down to ZERO and NYC will be getting a ton of money for a hip hop hall of fame which, in reality should be empty for all time).
This allowed Pritzker to proclaim that he was doing a GREAT job managing the Illinois budget (NOT). He immediately resumed spending like a drunken sailor and building up more debt as he took more money from hard working people like me and gave it to people who were likely to vote for him and other democrats because the are afraid republicans will spend money more reasonably (if only they would).
Now the entire world sees the lunacy of our ways, with many potential and former Allie’s (like the French, our oldest allies) aligning with China. Many countries are divesting themselves from the dollar, which, along with our totally unnecessary inflation is destroying the value of the dollar.
We are making the same mistakes as the Roman Empire. God help us and may God bless the United States.
When the police are told to react to the rioters as they did at (I believe) 1970 chicago democratic convention, the protester’s violence will subside. The coddling of the violence only causes more. Your “rights” come to an abrupt end at my nose.
Does this mean the hundreds of thousands of peaceful protestors on Jan 6th can expect payments, or just those who were assaulted? I was both tear-gassed and physically assaulted by police (without any verbal warning or instruction to leave the area) as I stood protesting near the Capitol’s western entrance. As I was withdrawing from the area, (after the initial assaults) I was tear-gassed a third time in a confined stairwell. It took me some time to overcome that to the point I could move. When will the Capitol Police be held responsible for the two deaths they caused and the violence perpetrated against the peaceful protestors like me?
… whatever it is you’ve got? Gun rights, dishwashers free speech, gas stoves, your 4th amendment, your cars, your children, the democrat political party is dedicated to, taking it away –
And we’re surprised by this why? All these groups are the “brownshirts” of the Democrats. I’m not surprised at all that the DOJ or the FBI doesn’t prosecute when they’re OWNED when they should Merely SERVE.
You all are right, but the root cause goes back farther. For 70 years or more, our country has been taking God and the Bible our of our schools under the false premise of “separation of church and state.” So we get what you would expect. We have a growing population of self-centered people with no regard for anyone or anything outside of their little world with no concern for the rights and welfare of others. And it’s not only the protestors. It’s the corporate executives that want multi-million salaries and multi-million dollar severance packages when their workers squeak by from paycheck to paycheck. It’s the stock holders who want double digit returns on their investments. It’s the laborers who always want higher salaries and more benefits to feed an ever increasing life style. We have people not working and contributing to society because they get more from the government than they could by working.
IF, and that’s a big if, these “protesters” were indeed wronged in any manner, it is because they fomented the environment that resulted in their sad state of affairs. It would seem that if they were to legally qualify for redress they would have been legally assembled, peaceful and orderly and not participating in ANY destruction or illegal activity. That was obviously not the case. If you go into a lion’s den and poke the lion, you’ve got to expect the lion is going to return with response in kind, or worse. They should be paying the response forces for their needed presence and harm they experienced.
“in Manhattan alone, BLM “protestors” caused tens of millions of dollars in damage”
Isn’t it past time to sue BLM for all the damages caused by there followers?
Anyone that is part of protesters or watching a protest needs to realize that they can be caught up in the madness & beaten or shot. Stay away or pay the consequences & do not blame anyone else except yourself for your actions.
The communist marxists traitors want nothing but chaos and anarchy.
These protesters that are disrupting working peoples lives and burning and looting every building with a window front should not have any police protection rights when maybe the people whose lives are being destroyed start taking matters into their hands. This country does not this type of ( idiot ) insurrection activity. This is why the second amendment is so important to God fearing Americans. What time the democrats aren’t burning and looting their murdering babies.
The world economic forum and its leader Klaus Schwab, a communist, have a training organization for world leaders and they have been putting their corrupt people in all leadership positions throughout the world. This is how our country and the rest of the world has been turning into our crazy upside down 1984 type situation. The head of the snake is the WEF.
i am appalled that my tax dollars are going to people who COMMITTED CRIMES when they looted business, burned down businesses and injured people all of which are CRIMES not peaceful protests.
How many rioters had ‘permits’? These cities just want to payoff some BLM’s…..we need MAGA, now!! Fight for us, President Trump!
Maybe time for a civil war!
They should have received zero. If anything they should be paying for the damages they incurred. What a backwards time we live in. You do wrong and get rewarded for it. The leaders of our country that allow this should be committed to an insane asylum. If all these Marxist Democrats are not thrown out of office in the next election America is doomed. May Almighty God intervene any way he has to.
The FBI is law enforcement arm of the ADL, SPLC, AIPAC, ACLU and other jew hate groups, along with their surrogate black hate groups such as BLM and NAACP.
The FBI is the law enforcement arm of the ADL, SPLC, AIPAC, ACLU and other jew hate groups, along with their surrogate black hate groups such as BLM and NAACP.
[Re-post to correct grammar error]
Why are these people not languishing in jail?
When you reward bad behavior you will only get more bad behavior! This should be fairly easy to fix.
Then you wonder why crime and lawlessness is getting worse, as long as the criminals are getting enabled by those in authority it will only continue to worsen crimes and lawlessness. Meanwhile the democrats go after Trump for expired misdemeanors to change into felonies. This country desperately needs conservative leadership to be in charge again. Every time I think of gas prices being $5.00 a gallon and all the millions Joe Biden and his family is paid off by the Chinese gets me very upset and angry. I miss $2.50 a gallon under Donald Trumps wise leadership that made this country energy independent only to be sold out by Joe Biden and his incompetent administration.
BLM should be sued for organizing a peaceful protest then letting it get out
Now we have to pay for ignorance. The people we have in office are nuts.
This would be considered corruption in other countries. Think about this: About 1/2 of the country doesn’t even know what is going on since our biased media withholds any information that would make their party of choice look bad. They are quick to report that “police are the bad guys” and criminals are the victims. No wonder there is so much division in this country. It is all about political influence. True professional news reporters will just report the news. It is not up to the news media to spin the stories tell us what and how to think. If they do, then the news we receive is corrupted.
QUOTE: “In all of these cases, the ‘protests’ in question often devolved into riots, and instances of protestor-on-protestor and protestor-on-police violence were common.”