Patterico's Pontifications

4/27/2015

Baltimore Burning

Filed under: General — Dana @ 6:01 pm



[UPDATE: Please comment on this post here.]

[guest post by Dana]

Sadly, 25-year old Freddie Gray was laid to rest today in Baltimore. After his funeral, rioting broke out, leaving 15 police officers injured and two hospitalized. This afternoon, Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard. The city will be under a curfew beginning tonight.

Most frighteningly, rumors of rival gangs uniting to attack the police were found to be credible:

The police said early in the day they had received a “credible threat” that “members of various gangs, including the Black Guerrilla family, Bloods and Crips” had “entered into a partnership to ‘take out’ law enforcement officers.” But officers kept a low profile in the neighborhood during the Gray funeral.

As a result of today’s rioting, Baltimore Mayor Rawlings-Blake is now finding herself taking heat for a press conference she held Saturday night wherein she expressed that a space for rioters to destroy and wreak havoc would be set aside:

I’ve made it very clear that I work with the police and instructed them to do everything that they could to make sure that the protesters were able to exercise their right to free speech,” Rawlings-Blake said during a press conference Saturday night.

“It’s a very delicate balancing act, because while we tried to make sure that they were protected from the cars and the other things that were going on, we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well.”

(The full press conference can be seen here)

Under increasing pressure, the mayor today attempted to walk-back her statement:

“I did not intentionally give space to those wanting to destroy”.

With that, while the Baltimore school superintendent hopes to “use this looting as teachable moment”, President Obama has not yet officially weighed in.

To the contrary:

President Obama dodged potential questions about violent street protests in Baltimore on Monday when he met with Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

Obama met with Lynch for the first time since she was sworn in, but the White House barred print, radio, and television reporters from covering the Oval Office meeting. Only still photographers were allowed inside.

The president and his new attorney general said nothing while their pictures were taken, photographers told a pool reporter.

During the meeting, Lynch updated Obama on the situation in Baltimore and said she “stands ready to provide any assistance that might be helpful there,” the White House said in a statement.

However, while the president may not have made an official comment about Baltimore burning, he was nonetheless, intently problem solving in the unique way that he does:


For a complete roundup of news coming out of Baltimore, Weasel Zippers is providing updates.

–Dana

UPDATE BY PATTERICO: Ha! Now it’s Dana’s turn to be the double poster! Turnabout is fair play; I am leaving her post up but asking you to comment on my post, here.

4 Responses to “Baltimore Burning”

  1. Hello.

    Dana (86e864)

  2. Great minds think alike. (Again.)

    Steven Den Beste (99cfa1)

  3. it’s too close for comfort this heat has got right out of hand

    happyfeet (831175)

  4. Decades of failed Blue State policies… chickens coming home… to roost!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)


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