Despite Trump's 'law and order' rhetoric, protesters won't back down
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[September 11, 2020]
By Daniel Trotta
(Reuters) - Anti-racism protesters
recognize the risk that comes with their calls for equal justice,
knowing that for all their peaceful protests, scenes of burning
buildings will hand U.S. President Donald Trump the images he needs for
his "law and order" re-election campaign.
But activists in hotspots such as Portland, Oregon, and Kenosha,
Wisconsin, say they are confident voters are on their side and that they
won't back down from a strategy that includes street demonstrations
under the banner of Black Lives Matter.
"We're not intimidated," said Veronica King, leader of the Kenosha
chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People. "The voters have seen the videos (of police enforcement against
Black men). I believe the voters are behind the movement and want
change."
With Trump, a Republican, trailing Democratic challenger Joe Biden in
the polls ahead of the Nov. 3 election, the president has seized on the
violence coming from the protests, even though the majority have been
peaceful.
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"The Democrats never even mentioned the words LAW & ORDER at their
National Convention," Trump tweeted on Thursday. "If I don't win,
America's Suburbs will be OVERRUN with Low Income Projects, Anarchists,
Agitators, Looters and, of course, 'Friendly Protesters.'"
In Portland, where there have been more than 100 straight nights of
demonstrations, protest leader Demetria Hester of Moms United for Black
Lives called the fear campaign a "publicity stunt" and said the movement
was undeterred.
"People are still dying and police aren't getting charged, and people
... see that and they aren't going to back down," Hester said.
Thousands of demonstrations spread across the United States following
the May 25 death of George Floyd when a Minneapolis police officer knelt
on his neck.
Protests flared anew after police in Kenosha shot Jacob Blake in the
back on Aug. 23.
People from across the political spectrum flocked to these crucibles,
pitting highly polarized factions against each other, sometimes with
deadly results. A volatile mix of local and outside nighttime
demonstrators, armed right-wing militias, and heavily equipped police
occupied the same streets, leading to clashes.
A 17-year-old rifle-toting Trump supporter has been charged with killing
two protesters and wounding a third in Kenosha. His lawyer says it was
self-defense. In Portland, left-wing protester Michael Reinoehl was
accused of killing a right-wing militiaman before police confronted and
shot him. In a Vice interview before his death, the activist maintained
he shot the militiaman in self-defense.
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![](../images/091120pics/news_a1.jpg)
A woman marches with a group of protesters down to the Kenosha
County Courthouse, in Kenosha, Wisconsin August 29, 2020.
REUTERS/Jim Vondruska
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PEACEFUL PROTESTS
While those cases have grabbed headlines, more than 93% of recent
demonstrations connected to Black Lives Matter were peaceful,
according to a study by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data
Project (ACLED), which monitors political violence in developing
countries and started following the United States last year.
Between May 26 and Aug. 22, ACLED recorded over 7,750 demonstrations
linked to Black Lives Matter in 2,400 places. Violence was limited
to fewer than 220 locations, mostly confined to a few blocks.
Where there is violence, peaceful demonstrators frequently complain
of outsiders, often white, breaking windows or setting fires. A
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel review of bookings into the Kenosha
County Jail found 52 percent of the more than 250 people arrested
one night came from outside the county.
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found 53% of American adults said they
remain sympathetic to people protesting against racial inequality.
Meanwhile, support for the Black Lives Matter movement has climbed
to 49% among all Americans, up 18 points from a similar poll two
years ago, rising 28 points among Democrats and 6 points among
Republicans.
Still, the Trump campaign believes a law and order message will
resonate with Americans. Samantha Zager, deputy national press
secretary for the Trump campaign, said Biden lacked the courage to
stand up to violence, even though he has repeatedly denounced it.
"(President Trump) has condemned the violence, demanded law and
order, and taken action to protect our communities without
hesitation," Zager said.
Clyde McLemore of Black Lives Matter in Lake County, Illinois, near
Kenosha, said the movement was being unfairly tarnished by the
actions of a few.
"I'm not for looting and I'm not for burning property," he said. "It
was not Black Lives Matter (causing violence). We disperse at eight
o'clock."
Still, he saw no reason to retreat from the streets, saying that
would only give Trump what he wants and will delay justice.
"We're going to protest," McLemore said. "That's our constitutional
right."
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Additional reporting by Deborah Bloom
and Chris Kahn; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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