I can’t imagine these riots are easy for police. While they’re all bearing the blame for what a handful have done, they also are dealing with trying to address the lawlessness as best they can. Usually, video would probably make it much easier to sort out who was rioting but, thanks to COVID-19, everyone has masks on now, even non-rioters.
But from time to time, there are those who make it easy for the police.
How? By being so stupid it’s almost impossible for the police not to catch them.
Thanks to technology, it’s even easier to be stupid.
An Illinois man who came to Minneapolis to riot over the weekend livestreamed himself handing out explosives, destroying property and appearing to set a Sprint store on fire, according to charges filed in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota on Monday afternoon.
Matthew Lee Rupert, 28, is charged with civil disorder, possession of unregistered explosives and participating in and organizing riots, making him the first to face federal prosecution for allegedly taking part in the fires, looting and other violence that engulfed the Twin Cities since the death of George Floyd in police custody.
Last Thursday night, Rupert, of Galesburg, Ill., posted on his public Facebook page an invitation for “goons” to join him in traveling to Minneapolis, where he said he was renting hotel rooms and planned to wreak havoc and “take hella good videos.”
The livestreamed videos, cited as evidence by FBI investigators in the complaint, show his role in the riots on Friday night and early Monday, including distributing explosives and then announcing, “He’s throwing my bombs … they’re going to bomb the police with them.”
“Good shot, my boy,” he shouted after one of the explosions, according to the complaint. “We came here to riot,” he declared later.
Wow. Just…wow.
Honestly, that’s weapons-grade stupid right there. I’m serious, that can be weaponized or something, it’s just that dumb.
Look, these “protests” are stupid. Actual protests? Fine. I may criticize what you say in your protest, but I’ll defend your right to protest. That’s just the nature of the world.
But riots aren’t protests. They’re violent theft.
Right now, thousands of rioters are getting away with it. They’re destroying property, looting, and there’s absolutely nothing that can be done to stop them.
Yet if we have special people like Mr. Rupert, though, it becomes so much easier. After all, he’s making the police’s job just that much easier.
It also lends a bit of credence to the claim that most of these protestors are coming in from out of state. It’s not really evidence in and of itself–after all, Rupert is just one guy–but it doesn’t seem unreasonable to believe still others are doing similarly. Of course, it’s also idiotic to think that none of the riots have homegrown rioters, either.
It’s also interesting that Rupert was willing to pay the expenses of others who might want to join him. Again, this is similar to claims we’ve seen where Antifa has been accused of funding the riots. While the word “Antifa” doesn’t show up in the news story, he sure sounds like the type, doesn’t he?
Still, it’s always nice when the trash basically takes itself out, and that’s precisely what Rupert did.
