Riots and Looting, WOW didn't see that coming to my little town

I will start off by saying what happened to Mr. Floyd and the EMT killed in her home was wrong on so many levels, those police officers should go to prison, this is my humble opinion. Freedom of assembly is a constitutional right; peaceful demonstrations are a must to have your voice heard. Riots and looting are wrong and I sure didn't expect them here, what happened in Champaign IL brings me to tears, from what I gather people from Chicago and St. Louis and out of state somehow picked the towns in Central IL and brought terror and violence with them. The police stood by, the news called it demonstrations, but call it what it is, setting fires, breaking into stores and taking what you want is looting, terrifying people, breaking the windows in their homes and marching down streets screaming and chanting, charging police, throwing things in the dark as fires rage is rioting. And I sure as heck did not expect it here. I guess last night there was a large peaceful demonstration at the Illinois capital in Springfield and I am happy for this. It's time to take a stand not only against the blatant use of force by people who should not be in Law Enforcement but also against those who think looting a Target or Old Navy is demonstrating. That all being said, from my local point of view, it is not acceptable anywhere and those who participated should be prosecuted and jailed.

I live in a small town too, and we've had protesters since Friday, in the middle of town. Not one person has been out of control! It's been peaceful the entire time! There's no need for rioting, fighting, looting or setting things on fire.

Yes, the officer who killed Floyd, should be charged with murder. (Death penalty IMO). The other three officers with him should be charged as well.

Hopefully all those people caught on film stealing, are found and charged for their crimes too.

We have had Protests here in New Orleans and Baton Rouge; they have been peaceful for the most part. When Agitators started throwing bottles and rocks at the Police; the locals chased them off. Even formed a barrier in front of the cops "They are our Brothers, too"

Three days of peaceful protests in Baton Rouge/St George; on the fourth day they started harrassing the customers and employees of the Chic Fila... because the owners are Christians and do not support LBQT. From there, they went to IHop, Olive Garden, Twin Peaks, and WhatA Burger. After that the Locals were DONE.

Today they were in Hammond. Someone drove their car INTO the Target at the Mall; started throwing boxes they said were bombs, waving guns around. Situation is evolving.

They should have put a stop to this from day one, lawlessness is unacceptable, destroying other people's lives is wrong.

The looters and vandals are not the protesters - they are opportunists. Some of them are in it for greed, some for agitation. I don't agree with the violence.

However, the right to protest is protected. Here in Toledo, the demonstration downtown started peacefully. There were police present in the area - two separate friends who live near downtown both reported that they were on their way home, when they were directed away from the area by someone dressed in black, with a large weapon. Both of these drivers said they could not see any badge or marking identifying them as law enforcement, but assumed it was so with others dressed similarly. And they assumed that the police were there to protect the downtown area, as well as the protesters. Towards the end of the rally, a slender white man stepped behind a police vehicle and started to spray paint on it - other members of the crowd attempted to stop him, and there was a video posted, showing him pushing people away. And shortly after, a car drove by and threw fireworks from behind the crowd and towards the police. That's when the police reacted against the protesters. There was some damage in the downtown area, and a curfew was called for downtown. We live two blocks from one edge of the zone, but nothing happened out in our area.

Subsequent organized protests in this area have been peaceful - I think those organizers also had their own people watching for possible instigators. I read that Cleveland and Columbus had bigger problems, and did call the National Guard. I don't remember how long they stayed in those cities.