As Trump mobilizes the marines to quell an “insurrection” in LA, it’s essential to be clear about how the protests started and what actually happened.
(Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
This article appears in full at The Nation
Consensus reality surrounding the LA protests seems to be as follows: While Trump’s decision to send 2,000 National Guard troops, then 700 Marines, then 2,000 more National Guard troops to Los Angeles is making the situation worse, the situation was bad before they got there.
I spent Sunday from about 4 pm until very late inside the LA protests, and this is what I saw. Yes, cars were set on fire in one part of the sprawling, multi-block protest. Yes, fireworks were launched at cops—a handful, sporadically. But it should be noted that these were launched long after these police officers began unloading flash bang after flash bang, rubber bullet after rubber bullet, into a largely peaceful crowd. (Flash bangs are stun grenades that produce a flash of light and deafening noise.)
Read the rest at The Nation