# Octopus has a point **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 31, 2021, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-has-a-point/939062 "2021-03-31T02:30:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 96
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2021, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-has-a-point/939062/96 "2021-04-05T20:28:54Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > What’s the estimate in damages for the riots, looting and mayhem over this summer? Where was the so-called FBI and other federal law enforcement in getting those criminals? How many received prison sentences? > > If the left wanted that criminality stopped they could have enforced the law in the cities and states controlled. They could have prosecuted the criminals. But nope. Left wing anarchists get to run amok. As usual, octopus, you have no idea [what you’re talking about](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/27/americas-protest-crackdown-five-months-after-george-floyd-hundreds-face-trials-and-prison): > [@](#): > > # America’s protest crackdown: five months after George Floyd, hundreds face trials and prison > > **Some protesters face stacked charges and threats of deportation; others have been charged with police assault with no reports of injuries** > > […] Since the killing of [George Floyd](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/george-floyd) in Minneapolis in May, millions of Americans have marched in cities big and small to protests racial violence and police brutality. The demonstrations have been overwhelmingly nonviolent, yet in many jurisdictions law enforcement has responded with force. Tens of thousands of demonstrators, activists and BLM supporters have been [arrested](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/08/george-floyd-killing-police-arrest-non-violent-protesters). > > More than five months since the start of the unrest, hundreds of these protesters have been slapped with [serious charges](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/16/felony-charges-blm-protesters-suppression-tactic) by federal and local prosecutors, according to researchers and a review of court data. Some protesters have faced stacked charges and threats of life sentences. Others have been charged with “assaulting” police officers where there’s no evidence of violence and no reports of injuries. Some arrested protesters have been transferred to immigration authorities. […] > > Research [has shown](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/27/us-rightwing-extremists-attacks-deaths-database-leftwing-antifa) that the [vast majority](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/05/nearly-all-black-lives-matter-protests-are-peaceful-despite-trump-narrative-report-finds) of BLM-related demonstrations this year have not involved damage to property, harm to people or [ties to extremist groups](https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-race-and-ethnicity-suburbs-health-racial-injustice-7edf9027af1878283f3818d96c54f748). […] > > Still, federal prosecutors have doubled down on cases involving leftist protesters. From the end of May through October, federal prosecutors have filed more than 300 cases related to protests, according to [The Prosecution Project](https://theprosecutionproject.org/2020/10/15/tracking-federal-cases-related-to-summer-protests-riots-uprisings/) (TPP), a research group that tracks political violence. Of those 300, roughly 30% are in Oregon (where [nightly protests have received national attention](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/08/portland-protests-medics-police)), 9% in New York, 7% in Pennsylvania and 6% in Minnesota. Most are felonies. > > There are cases in at least 25 other states. […] So, far from lawbreaking protestors getting to “run amok” in “left-controlled” jurisdictions, there’s been a very punitive response at every level, from local up to federal. Contrary to the picture in octopus fantasyland, criminals in BLM protests (and apparently significant numbers of non-criminals as well) are getting prosecuted. And you know, octopus, you could have found out that information just as easily as I did; it’s no secret. But you preferred to literally just make shit up and pretend it was true, so you could score rhetorical points by blatantly cheating against the facts. That’s some Trumpian-level bullshittery there. I don’t mind people having different opinions from mine, but I do get kind of disgusted with those who don’t even try to find out whether their opinions square with the facts. If people could actually get banned from these boards for betraying the fundamental Straight Dope principles of fighting ignorance and acknowledging reality, your slimy ass would be first in line for the chop. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-has-a-point/939062)._