Gingrich “Anger is justified over George Floyd’s killing – rioting is not and should have been prevented”

written by Paul Goldberg May 30, 2020

Per WKMG, Thursday night, cheering protesters torched a Minneapolis police station that the department was forced to abandon as three days of violent protests spread to nearby St. Paul and angry demonstrations flared across the U.S over the death of George Floyd.

WATCH:

In a new Op-Ed for Fox News, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich argues that while anger is justified over George Floyd’s killing, rioting is not and should have been prevented.

Gingrich writes:

The death Monday of George Floyd, a black man in police custody, is a complete outrage. The complete failure of Minneapolis officials to stop and prevent the ensuing rioting is a second outrage.

Derek Chauvin, the fired white Minneapolis policeman seen on cellphone video kneeling on Floyd’s neck despite Floyd complaining that he couldn’t breathe, was arrested Friday afternoon and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.

I will discuss Floyd’s horrifying death in a moment, but I’ll start with the Minneapolis system’s failure.

The first rule of riots is to preempt them and stop them. While people are rioting, the rule of law is collapsed and street mobs dominate. Because mobs are directionless and led only by waves of emotion, hostility and hate, every innocent person nearby is inherently in danger.

The more authority pulls back, the more lawlessness moves in and the mob takes property, destroys property, and endangers lives.

People who had been forced to stay home by COVID-19 now might find themselves forced to stay home because of fear of what might happen to them if the mob catches them in the street. And in the most violent neighborhoods, even staying in your own home is not a guarantee of safety.

Small business owners in Minneapolis – who are often Somali, black or Hispanic, and mostly women – may find their lifetime’s work destroyed by a vengeful, hateful mob.

The first duty of government is to provide physical security. But the city of Minneapolis failed to protect its citizens. The state of Minnesota failed to protect its citizens.

Now President Trump is threatening to intervene with federal forces as President Lyndon Johnson did when rioting hit Detroit in 1967 and as President George H.W. Bush did in Los Angeles in 1992.

Unfortunately, the tragedy unfolding in Minneapolis is one we have seen again and again.

Read more here.