Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has called in the National Guard to help control the riots his irresponsible statement about the police shooting of Jacob Blake might well have helped cause.
More than 100 Guardsmen are risking their lives to control rampaging arsonists and looters who are setting fire to and wrecking the buildings and businesses owned by people who had nothing to do with the shooting.
Meanwhile, more information has emerged about Blake. He struggled with police and he was wanted in connection with sexual assault. And he didn’t much care for police, either, his Facebook page showed.
Guard Moves In
Evers, who flatly stated the shooting of Blake was unjust before knowing much about it, called in 125 troops to protect the city from the violence he helped unleash.
The rampaging rioters have set fire to a church that supports the Marxist Black Lives Matter, and seem intent on burning down every car dealership in the city.
The Kenosha News described a city under siege in its edition this morning.
Rioters set fire to the city Community Corrections Building, the newspaper reported, and while firefighters fought the blaze there, “about a mile to the west, 40 people looked on as the Danish Brotherhood Lodge burned. Flames shot high into the air.”
A witness to the arson — a hobby shop owner armed with a shotgun to protect his property — said the rioters tossed “firebombs” at the lodge, the newspaper reported:
Moments later, a hissing sound came from the direction of the building and several people ran as it exploded, the rubble and gray dust scattering all over the street. A building alarm could be heard going off continuously. A woman screamed and sobbing could be heard nearby.
In the wee hours after midnight this morning, cops caught two suspects in the attempted arson of the city library, and “while a steady rain began to fall around 1:30 a.m., multiple squads responded to the Target … and Dick’s Sporting Goods … where there were reports that looters had targeted the businesses.”
A photo essay at the newspaper’s website depicts the wreckage.
Multiple videos posted to Twitter show burning stores and cars dealerships.
Evers Encouraged Rioters
Evers’ statement could not have helped matters. Rioters likely saw what he said as a license to destroy the city.
“While we do not have all of the details yet, what we know for certain is that he is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country,” the Democrat governor said.
Thus, he continued:
We stand with all those who have and continue to demand justice, equity, and accountability for Black lives in our country — lives like those of George Floyd, of Breonna Taylor, Tony Robinson, Dontre Hamilton, Ernest Lacy, and Sylville Smith. And we stand against excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging with Black Wisconsinites.
I have said all along that although we must offer our empathy, equally important is our action. In the coming days, we will demand just that of elected officials in our state who have failed to recognize the racism in our state and our country for far too long.
Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden said much the same thing and flatly stated the cops were guilty of a crime. They must be “held accountable,” he said.
City police said Evers statement was “wholly irresponsible.”
New Info On Blake
As The New American reported earlier today, Blake was hardly an “innocent” man who was simply getting into his car, as the media are suggesting. Newly released video shows Blake struggling with cops before they shot him.
Also, court records show that on July 7, cops issued an arrest warrant for Blake in connection with third-degree sexual assault, a Class G felony that carries a possible $25,000 fine and 10 years in prison.
And Blake was involved in some drunken gunplay and driving in 2015 and resisted arrest then, too, a newspaper report says. His blood alcohol content was nearly twice the legal limit.
The National Pulse disclosed yesterday that Blake didn’t like cops, either. His Facebook cover photo is an image of police depicted as pigs.
Photo shows flag at Department of Corrections building ablaze; Kenosha, Wisconsin: AP Images
R. Cort Kirkwood is a longtime contributor to The New American and a former newspaper editor.
