THE RIOT CRISIS IN WASHINGTON AND HOW TO SOLVE IT

  In June 2020 the US House of Representatives voted 232 to 180 to make Washington, D. C., the 51^st state in the union. All the Democrats but one voted for; all the Republican votes were no. If the District were to become a state, Democrats would almost certainly gain 2 Senate seats and several more in the House. What are some of the issues involved?

According to Wikipedia: “The mayor of the District of Columbia is the head of the executive branch of the government of the District of Columbia, .... The mayor has the duty to enforce district laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Council of the District of Columbia, . . .. In addition, the mayor oversees all district services, public property [my emphasis], police and fire protection, most public agencies, and the public school system within the District of Columbia.”

It may surprise readers to know that during much of its history Washington did not have the same kind of government as most American cities. The District was created from land ceded to the Federal Government by two states, Maryland and Virginia, and it was to be the home of the Congress, Supreme Court, and the residence of the President. No mayor would have such power as to impede the workings of the national government. Later, national monuments, foreign embassies, and other activities emphasized that Washington, D. C., was more than just another city, it was a national city, the nation's capital.

It was not until the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and discussions of voting rights for Blacks that the political climate changed. Many local questions were still handled by Congressional committees. Wikipedia summarizes what happened after President Richard Nixon's landslide victory of 1972: “In 1973, Congress enacted the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, providing for an elected mayor and 13-member district council, with the first elections to take place the following year.  Incumbent mayor-commissioner Walter Washington was elected the first home-rule Mayor of the District of Columbia on November 5,1974.  He took office on January 2, 1975, heading the district's first popularly-elected government in over a century.” So, although Washington is an old city, it has been electing mayors and councilmen like other cities for only 45 years. It is not a state; not a regular city; it is the nation's capital, with all the nation's major offices, libraries, museums, and monuments. It is a jewel of the nation.

But some seemed to misuse the jewelry box. Again, from Wikipedia, which is not a right-wing site: “The local government, particularly during the mayoralty of Washington's successor, Marion Barry (1979–1991), was criticized for mismanagement and waste. Barry defeated Mayor Washington in the 1978 Democratic Party primary. Barry was then elected mayor, serving three successive four-year terms. During his administration in 1989, The Washington Monthly magazine claimed that the district had 'the worst city government in America'.  After being imprisoned for six months on misdemeanor drug charges in 1990, Barry did not run for reelection.[9] In 1991, Sharon Pratt Kelly became the first black woman to lead the district. Barry was elected again in 1994, and by the next year the district had become nearly insolvent.”

The Federals came to the rescue and for several years had to oversee Washington's expenditures, and by 2001, the District was again in charge of its own finances. In 2014 Muriel Bowser became mayor for a 4-year term, and was re-elected in 2018. In 2020 in Minneapolis a large Black man who had been using drugs sought to pass a counterfeit $20. When police came to apprehend him, the senior officer led the other 3, one rookie had only be on the job a few days, in showing the techniques to down a large, hostile and unruly individual. Others videotaped pieces of the action. Bottom line, Officer Chauvin knelt on George Floyd's neck until the man died.

With much of the nation's youth in lock down because of the corona virus, unable to see each other at school, at the playground, at the basketball game, or the baseball game or even the soccer game, suddenly there were calls to protest the murder they all saw on tv. Get outside, see your friends, and protest the police murder of George Floyd. The George Soros funded machines sped into operation to lead the protests, Black Lives Matter, Anti-Fa, and local groups suddenly rose to channel the youth into protest areas. The protests began in Minneapolis, home of the Floyd incident, but national media (liberal Democratic and leftist biased) promoted the riots as justified reaction to the police brutality. Suddenly there were protests in cities throughout the nation, and youths met their friends again, ignored the virus, and had a great time chanting together, all in favor of “justice,” against kneeling on a suspects neck, of allowing perps to breathe, etc. In Minneapolis, the protests had turned violent, breaking show-windows, breaking into stores, looting, burning the stores. The “peaceful” protests, became anything but; a difference of day and night; often peaceful by day, violent by night. The same pattern spread faster than a virus throughout the nation.

Then the protests hit Washington, D.C. The Wikipedia entry on George Floyd Protests in Washington, D.C., provides basic information. “Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, has seen a series of protests following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Most of the events were peaceful, while some involved violence and looting.” After the general description, the entry goes into daily detail. May 29:

“The White House was on lockdown the night of May 29 in response to protests reaching the gates.  The protests begun at 7:00 p.m. By 8:30 p.m., the White House lockdown was lifted as protesters began to leave. At 10:00 p.m., the protesters returned however by 3:30 am Saturday the protesters were more subdued. The protesters came into conflict with the United States Secret Service. At times, the protesters got close enough to inflict minor injuries on certain officers. At one point the protesters were pepper sprayed  Several Secret Service agents reportedly suffered broken bones due to rocks and bottles of urine and alcohol thrown at them by rioters.

“As a result of the protests, the Secret Service rushed President Donald Trump to shelter in the White House underground bunker, where he remained for almost one hour.  This occurred after some protesters crossed temporary barricades set up near the Treasury Department buildings. Around that time, the Secret Service alert level was raised to 'red'. The president's wife and son were also brought to the bunker.  Trump later falsely claimed that he had only gone to the bunker for an 'inspection', and also claimed that he was in the bunker 'for a tiny, little short period of time'.  Attorney General William Barr later stated that the May 29 protests 'were so bad that the Secret Service recommended that the President go down to the bunker'.

“President Trump responded to the White House protesters on Twitter, saying that if they had crossed the White House fence they would have been attacked by 'the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons'. He also stated that 'many Secret Service agents [are] just waiting for action', and accused the protesters of being 'professionally organized'. The Secret Service reported that six people were arrested in Lafayette Park. D.C. Metro Police and US Park Police were also on the scene.”

A founder of Wikipedia complained a few months ago that the institution now leans too far to the left. It is not a right-wing news outlet. Yet, in its description of events on the first night of the “mainly peaceful protests,” the President and his family had to be escorted to an underground bunker because of the physical threats posed by the subversive mobs outside the White House. Though Trump lied about the bunker, that he had to leave his home with his wife and son because of such a hostile, violent mob, is itself a disgrace.

Wikipedia describes the events of May 30: “Protesters gathered around the White House again on May 30.  Police vehicles were damaged with one protester graffitiing words disparaging the President.  Monuments on the National Mall including the Lincoln Memorial and National World War II Memorial were defaced.”

For June 30, Wikipedia adds: “In response to violent protests, Mayor Bowser announced a citywide curfew from 7pm to 6am, which remained in effect through June 3. An additional curfew from 11pm to 6am was added for the night of June 3.

“Amid ongoing protests, U.S. Park Police and National Guard troops used tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, stingball grenades, horses, shields and batons to clear peaceful demonstrators from Lafayette Square and surrounding streets, creating a path for President Trump to walk to St. John's Episcopal Church.  Trump held a bible and posed for photos in front of the church, which was damaged in a fire during protests on May 31.  The enforcement action was seen by many as excessive and an affront to First Amendment rights of peaceful protesters.  The U.S. Park Police disputes this interpretation of events.”

The media, generally leftist, continually reported that the Lafayette Park protestors were peaceful, yet Atty. Gen. Barr asserted that the Park Service had found many objects that could be used as weapons from metal bars to stones and bottles. Barr accompanied Trump on this walk to the Episcopal Church, which had historic value and called “The President's Church.” Yet, the mob the previous night had attempted to burn it. The female Bishop of that church complained about Trump's photo opportunity. Yet, if the mob came again, would she defend her church? Could she? Could she rely on the liberal Democrat Mayor to do so?. The Trump walk to the church, and the clearing of the rabble from the park, may well have occurred after curfew. Was the Democratic Mayor ordering the arrest of the curfew violators?

Wikipedia describes some of the events of June 2: “On Tuesday, up to 2,000 people demonstrated, the largest crowd up to that date. Senator Elizabeth Warren and her husband Bruce H. Mann spoke with protesters. The protests centered on Lafayette Square in front of the White House, and also included a march to the Capitol Building. . . .

“Overall, federal law enforcement presence was notably increased, which Mayor Muriel Bowser said was not the result of a request by the city.  In contrast with previous days, violence occurred." [Emph. Mine]

For July 3, 2020, Wikipedia related: “Over 5,000 were estimated to have taken part in peaceful demonstrations across the city, including those well past curfew into Thursday morning. No arrests were made, and no confrontations with police or damage to police property occurred.

. . .”[Atty. Gen.] Barr announced that he would 'flood the zone' in D.C. by bringing in law enforcement agents from multiple federal agencies. Barr himself was supervising the operation from an FBI command center in Washington's Chinatown.  The deployment involved at least 5,800 troops, agents, and officers including personnel from the National Guard, US Secret Service, US Park Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, US Marshals Service, Bureau of Prisons, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Protective Service and the Transportation Security Administration.  The heavily-armed officers wore uniforms with no name badges and no insignia to show what agency they worked for, and they refused to answer questions. [Thus, that night there may have been more officers than protestors on the streets of DC, which may explain the more peaceful side of the demonstrators.-HM]

For June 5, Wikipedia presented this description: “On June 5 muralists painted the words "Black Lives Matter" in 35-foot letters on 16th Street NW leading up to the White House and Lafayette Square with the assistance of the city government, which gave the section of the street the honorary name Black Lives Matter Plaza.

“Mayor Bowser asked Trump to 'withdraw all extraordinary law enforcement and military presence from Washington, D.C.', noting that protests the night before had been peaceful and she has ended the protest-related state of emergency in the city.  The Pentagon later that day announced it was withdrawing 1,600 active-duty troops it had deployed near the city.” [True, protests the previous day had been peaceful, but that night's activities were interrupted by a major thunderstorm, causing the mobs to disperse.- HM]

Wikipedia had more glowing things to report for June 6: “Demonstrations on Saturday featured over 10,000 people, the most of any in the city up to that point. Among the protestors that day were Senators Mitt Romney, Elizabeth Warren, and Representative John Lewis.  The largest were centered around the White House, as in previous days, . . . Other gatherings occurred intermittently at various locations, . . .

“Law enforcement presence was heavily scaled back, and the atmosphere resembled what some participants characterized as resembling a 'block party' or 'festival', in sharp contrast to the previous weekend.  Some individuals spray-painted "Defund the Police" on the street where "Black Lives Matter" had been painted earlier the previous day, in a move intended to criticize Mayor Bowser, who also spoke at the protests near the White House."

Wikipedia then skips to June 23 to report further action: “Hundreds of protesters gathered near a bronze statue of President Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square. Protesters spray painted "killer" and other phrases on the pedestal. Protesters then affixed ropes to the statue and attempted to pull it down. Police used batons and pepper spray to disperse the protesters.”

Under the heading “Vandalism,” Wikipedia had a short summary: “The Lincoln Memorial, the World War II Memorial, and the statue of General Casimir Pulaski were vandalized during the protests in Washington, D.C.

“The statue of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of India's independence movement against the British rule, was vandalised by unknown individuals. The incident prompted the Indian Embassy to register a complaint with law enforcement agencies. Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the Indian Ambassador to the United States called the vandalism 'a crime against humanity'.  U.S. President Donald Trump called the defacement of Mahatma Gandhi's statue in D.C. a 'disgrace'. [Note that this summary makes no mention of the attempt to pull down the statue of the Hero of New Orleans, President Andrew Jackson, or objects thrown on the lawn of the White House or in other parks and public areas.-HM]

There are presently proposals being voiced by Democrats to make the District of Columbia a state. It is not a state. It was initially carved from two states to be the nation's capital. As the capital, it was for many years ruled directly by Congress. The city has a special place, and the Congress is located there, the US Supreme Court, the White House, and the many monuments, museums, agencies, erected to represent the nation as a whole.

When the Mayor and home-rule city government fails to protect the national monuments, allows mobs to so threaten the White House that the President and his family had to be escorted into an underground bunker for protection, when the Mayor commands that the name of a Marxist, semi-terrorist organization be painted in 35 ft letters on a major street beside the lawn of the White House, when she orders the painting of a racist slogan on that street, and used the same racist slogan to rename a plaza, when she allowed the desecration by the mob of the Lincoln Memorial, the WWII Memorial, and others, disturbing most Americans, and when the mob attacked the statue of Gandhi, it created international difficulties for the United States, when the Mayor is either in collusion with the mobs, or unable to control them, either way her incompetence or subversion can no longer be endured in the nation's capital.

How can anyone call Black Lives Matter a racist slogan? If Trump had commanded another major street be decorated with huge letters proclaiming White Lives Matter, the media would be in an uproar about the racist message. All Lives Matter provokes the same hatred by the mob; they find it too racist! One should realize that privileging one race over others, as in Mayor Bowser's ordered lettering, that is racism.

            PRESIDENT TRUMP SHOULD DEPOSE MAYOR BOWSER

Therefore, I urge President Trump to depose Mayor Muriel Bowser, and make Washington D. C. a national capital again under direction of the nation's executive until a more permanent solution to the problem can be found. Washington D C must remain a safe space for the nation as a whole. Mobs cannot be allowed to demolish what the people of the nation have created. The President must intervene to save the capital for all America, and punish the mobs that seek to destroy the cherished symbols of the nation's past. The monsters who destroy must be punished. Civilization must be restored. To effect this, Mayor Bowser must be removed from office, and power of the District placed in the hands of the nation's leaders.

By Hugh Murray