# Are police officers being more lenient on armed protesters sending the wrong message **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 13, 2020, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-police-officers-being-more-lenient-on-armed-protesters-sending-the-wrong-message/853746 "2020-05-13T22:18:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-police-officers-being-more-lenient-on-armed-protesters-sending-the-wrong-message/853746/41 "2020-05-16T12:09:39Z")
I agree many cops agree with these groups. But if the police chief told the cops to make arrests they would. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-police-officers-being-more-lenient-on-armed-protesters-sending-the-wrong-message/853746/42 "2020-05-16T14:12:27Z")
**Wesley Clark:** > [@](#): > > _ **If you nonviolently protest in the park, the police will beat the shit out of you.** _ If you storm the capital the police sit by and watch just so long as you have rifles that you are using to intimidate politicians while you do it. Its a bad signal. I can attest to that. I was in Lincoln Park in Chicago, August 26, 1968… ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-police-officers-being-more-lenient-on-armed-protesters-sending-the-wrong-message/853746/43 "2020-05-16T15:44:13Z")
Also, as a responsible gun owner and carrier, I think the guys in camo open carrying AR 15s do much more harm than good for the sane exercise of our 2nd amendment rights. They make us all look like lunatics from the fringe and dangerous YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-police-officers-being-more-lenient-on-armed-protesters-sending-the-wrong-message/853746/44 "2020-05-16T16:59:39Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > The solution to protest should as much as possible be to be present in case things turn violent, take pictures so you can later arrest or fine people who are doing illegal things, and otherwise just let them shout. Genius. For weeks now I’ve been wanting to find and troll a group of white gun strokers, but my intended strategy is to goad one into making a threatening gesture with his gun (soldiers get weapons, these clowns have guns) and then pressing “assault with a deadly weapon on government property”. Nobody goes to jail, but the clown gets to spend about $10k on a defense lawyer. But the better answer by far is to just move in close and start taking pictures of faces, weapons, tattoos, insignia…anything and everything to help identify the “protesters”. And if they don’t work out what you’re up to and continue the shenanigans, you dox them. Hard, and often. I’m cool with people wanting to lift all the restrictions (I don’t agree with them, but they have their own minds), but abusing other rights in order to intimidate other people earns them a destroyed life in my book. As for the OP: Of course police are soft on people who can fight back. They’re only human. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-police-officers-being-more-lenient-on-armed-protesters-sending-the-wrong-message/853746.md?page=2)