Thanks to the work of two legendary leftist activist organizations and a Philadelphia law firm that is venerated within the ranks of the Democrat Party, $9.25 million was awarded to 343 Plaintiffs who claim they sustained “physical and emotional” damages in 2020 while engaging in peaceful George Floyd protests.
Also under the agreement, $500,000-$600,000 will be provided to the Bread & Roses Community Fund, a Socialist Feminist ‘equity’ based organization, for free mental health counseling for West Philadelphia residents as a result of perceived police abuses during the riots.
The City of Philadelphia was under no obligation to admit any wrongdoing as the suit progressed through the courts: that is to say, the city maintains that police actions during those riots were more justified in controlling the burning of squad cars, the destruction of a sizeable part of Center City near Rittenhouse Square, the blowing up of multiple ATM machines, and the destruction of businesses in Port Richmond along Aramingo Avenue, all of which necessitated a military-like response.
The 2020 Floyd rioters held Philadelphia hostage for a number of weeks, necessitating nightly curfews and terrorizing neighbors who feared that roving bands of anarchists would begin to torch private residences.
The police, if anything, exercised great restraint in controlling the rioters. In some instances, rioters chased police, turned over their squad cars and set them on fire.
Despite this reality, two other leftwing activist lawyers had a hand in the settlement.
Paul Hetznecker, known throughout the city as a radical lawyer who represented masked bandanna-wearing rioters who blocked an entrance to an interstate highway during the 2000 Republican National Convention (action by police at that time resulted in 4 police injuries and damage to at least 20 patrol cars), and attorney Michael Coard, famous in activist circles for his long dreadlocks, spoke to news outlets after the $9.25 million verdict.
“The First Amendment is sacrosanct,” Coard said:
It is not to be praised one day as this glorious document and then used like a piece of toilet paper the next day even if the city and police think that peaceful protesting is a shitty way to petition your government. What happened here is blatant, obvious and egregious. There should not only be civil liabilities but also more criminal prosecutions.
Yes, Mr. Coard, what happened in the city in 2020 was blatant, obvious and egregious. There should be criminal prosecutions, like the federal charges leveled against Anthony Smith in 2020 for torching a police car.
Now activist Smith will receive thousands of dollars to soothe his emotional healing.
Such twisted pretzel logic has become normal in this city of hyper-wokeness and unrelenting activist guile.
CBS Philly, for instance, pinpointed activist Smith as one of the people who helped topple the Frank Rizzo statue that used to stand in front of the Municipal Services Building near City Hall.
Philadelphia Magazine, in a rush to be radical chic and relevant, named Smith as one of the city’s most Influential citizens. Torch a patrol car and topple a statue and you become an instant Philly celebrity.
The Legal Defense Fund, one of the activist organizations involved in the lawsuit, announced that the city will end its participation in a federal program that arms state and local law enforcement with military-style weapons.
Of course, the riots that held Philadelphia captive in 2020 were very much like a war. I recall walking throughout my neighborhood then and hearing explosions in the distance, or seeing flashes of light from homemade bombs used to destroy fast food outlets in the city’s Port Richmond neighborhood.
What was this if not a war that demanded a military-like response? Stores were boarded up in anticipation of being destroyed or occupied, and businesses shut off their lights at night as police copters with multiple spotlights flew low in the sky searching for rioters.
The big contention in the lawsuit was the use of tear gas by police to control and corral Floyd protesters blocking traffic in I-676.
Blocking traffic on a major highway and attempting to stop the “circumlocution” of a city is tantamount to violence. The protesters on the highway would not move. They wanted to make a point about “equity”; to hell with Mr. and Mrs. Smith who may have been driving to the hospital with their child; to hell with people going or returning from work; to hell with a priest going to give someone the Last Rites.
The war for “equity” trumps all.
“We will make the way impassable. We will make you remember George Floyd. We will make everyone pay,” the protesters might as well have been saying.
CBS Philadelphia described the scene on I-676 this way:
On the same day, around the same time, Pennsylvania state troopers responded to the intersection of Broad and Vine Streets, just north of City Hall. Two state police patrol sport utility vehicles were placed at the on-ramp of Interstate-676 in an effort to prevent protesters from gaining access to the highway.
A group of individuals began attacking the vehicles and shattering windows. Authorities say equipment was stolen, including road flares, fire extinguishers, and “riot bags” containing additional state police-issued equipment.
“The pain and trauma caused by a legacy of systemic racism and police brutality against Black and Brown Philadelphians is immeasurable,” said Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney when the verdict of the lawsuit was announced. “While this is just one step in the direction toward reconciliation, we hope this settlement will provide some healing from the harm experienced by people in their neighborhoods in West Philadelphia and during demonstrations on I-676 in 2020.”
And yet not one word about the $21 million in damages the protesters/rioters cost the city of Philadelphia, and the fact that for weeks the city was an armed camp surrounded by the National Guard.
“The First Amendment Is SACROSANCT”Unless you are a TRUMP Supporter!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes Sir. The 1st Amendment is sacrosanct, as are all the amendments and our Constitution. Sadly, all are denigrated or boldly ignored today.
I think we can say that the 1st Amendment rests on the broad shoulders of the 2nd Amendment.
These are the current targeted amendments for destruction.
The 6th Amendment. Very important to the health of our republic, but is being ignored by the
“Just-us”: department n reference to the 1/6 folks rotting in prison. We live in perilous times.
More money wasted sent to Criminals while the Democ-Rats wan to defund the Police . Someone Brain the Jackass with 2×4
Is this money in addition to reparations? Will the rioters have to pay tax on this income?
BUT BLACK RACISM AND VIOLENCE IS ONLY A FANTASY????
VP Kamala Harris: ‘Racism Is Real in America, and It Has Always Been’
The White House
JOEL B. POLLAK
Vice President Kamala Harris condemned the U.S. as racist, xenophobic, and sexist in remarks at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where she and President Joe Biden traveled Friday to show solidarity with the Asian American community.
“Racism is real in America and it has always been. Xenophobia is real in America and always has been. Sexism, too,” Harris said.
Eight people were murdered this week at three massage parlors in Atlanta. Six of the victims were Asian.
Though police said that there was no evidence of a racial motive, advocates have claimed that the event is only the latest in a wave of anti-Asian-American hate crimes.
Every year in America, some 500 whites are murdered by black assailants, more than twice as many as blacks killed by whites. The media need to report all of these cases fairly and without bias so as to counter the false reporting and misplaced emphasis in the national press. All victims, of whatever race, deserve justice because all human life is precious. The reporting of violence should not be based on race — it should be proportionate to the crime, without regard to the race of the perpetrator or the victim. Jeffrey Folks
The drug cartels will have most of those payments within a month.
Some things need to be known, if for nothing else but for the sake a balanced perspective
Which is that George Floyd was a vicious hardened criminal therefore it’s very wrong to make some kind of a “hero” out of hooligan was such criminal that he not was not only on drugs but was also involved in drug trafficking .
Mr. Floyd was so totally despicable that he even entered a pregnant woman’s home under a false premise of deception to let his lawless ruffians lot her home , all the while he threateningly pointed a gun to that pregnant woman’s stomached ‘You better cooperate.”
The list of crimes that Floyd was guilty of can to go on. It’s absurd as well as wrong to make a “hero” out of heinously wicked thug. As the Bible reads “Woe to those who call evil good…” Isaiah 5:20. [N.K.J.V.]
The police officer, Alexander Kueng, who was sentenced to prison by the politically correct court of “law” for the death of that hoodlum George Floyd completely refused to take into consideration everything that really mattered.
The PC court didn’t take into account that Mr. Floyd was both a drug trafficking and drug using hooligan and that one of the reason his died that night was not only that the officer used force on him, which is the only language that thugs and gangsters are able to understand because that will not respond to reason. Floyd died because of his drug abuse about with the force that officer used on him.
If Floyd hadn’t resisted the officer force then would not have been needed to control him.
In the light of Bible it’s wrong to resist of police officers or their orders. Romans 13:2.
Furthermore as this CP unjust prison sentence upon Mr Kueng is a reminder for Christians to pray for him since he was wrongly sentenced and that Bible also instructs in Hebrews 13 : 3. “Remember the prisoners as if chained with them – Those who are mistreated – since you yourselves are in the body also.” [N.K.J.V.]
One of the many logic errors of the B.L.M. is that which comes from the Latin called Ad Hominem. That is meaning “to the man.” Many members of B.L.M. seem to believe that because some White police officers might be “racists against Blacks” than all White police officers are “racist against Blacks.” That is a false premise and a false foundation for that specific belief. Therefore, that’s an error of logic. Otherwise known as a logic fallacy.
What Mr. Nickels omitted is that there was not one prosecution I know of for the damage and destruction to retail stores on Walnut and Chestnut Streets in the ensuing rioting and looting. I witnessed a black man in an anarchist uniform tearing open the shutter on the Banana Republic store and then directing looters (not that interested) inside to grab stuff. The window on my own building was broken, but thankfully no further damage was done. The three buildings burned to the ground remain empty holes. No compensation has been heard to be offered to these businesses. No compensation to the residents of the buildings affected. No calls were made for evidence, nor any collected, most likely, and I have video of looters. This settlement is blood money and not from the city government, but its citizens and businesses. I have always been considered liberal, but this entire mess was utterly appalling. It created more hate than ever existed before.
But remember,”They Were Mostly PeaceFul”????????????????????????????