Three teenagers were jailed in Washington state last week after allegedly marking a pride flag painted on a road with little scooter tire tracks.
A few days later, in Washington, D.C., no arrests were made after anti-American and anti-Israel protesters vandalized historic monuments in Lafayette Square, assaulted law enforcement officers on video, and called for America’s demise, with dozens of members wearing Hamas symbols or espousing Islamic extremist slogans.
The contrast in how the two incidents were handled by the criminal justice system has sparked significant criticism and derision on social media.
Despite widespread progressive support for “restorative justice” and the elimination of charges for the majority of adolescent crimes, few left-wing pundits have criticized the charges brought against teenage scooter riders.
“Anti-American, pro-Hamas thugs desecrated our veterans’ statues directly across the street from the White House, in clear violation of federal law. On video. I expect the Department of Justice to deploy the same tactics against them that it did against grandmas wearing MAGA hats on January 6. And if it doesn’t now, it will next year,” said Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton on X.
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The weekend’s pro-Palestine protests were sparked by an Israeli military operation that released four captives but killed about 200 civilians, according to Hamas-controlled Palestinian health officials.
During the riots, sculptures of President Andrew Jackson and General Marquis de Lafyette, who fought alongside George Washington in the Revolutionary War, were vandalized, among other monuments.
Anti-American, pro-Hamas thugs desecrated the statues of our veterans literally across the street from the White House, a blatant violation of federal law. On video. I expect the Department of Justice to use every technique against them that it used against grandmas in MAGA hats… pic.twitter.com/0eSYzgNjmD
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) June 9, 2024
According to the Washington Free Beacon, demonstrators could be heard overtly calling for the killing of Jews and America, chanting “Kill another Zionist now,” and graffitiing “Hamas is justified,” and “Death to Amerikkka,” on public property.
Journalist Andy Ngo shared a video of the event on X, showing a solitary park warden defending a monument while being harassed by demonstrators throwing items at him.
Despite widespread vandalism and reports that rioters were directly harassing police, no arrests were made as a result of the incident.
The absence of protest-related arrests is reminiscent of the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots in Washington, D.C. when thousands of protestors forcefully attacked the White House.
While D.C. officials ignored serious damage and violence by rioters calling for the death of America and the murder of Jews, adolescents who left small tire tracks on a pride mural were treated very differently in Washington State.
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All three will face felony charges.
According to a press release from the Spokane, Washington Police Department, they got complaints on Wednesday night reporting a group of youngsters driving scooters over the newly painted artwork.
Police interviewed witnesses and checked surveillance footage before apprehending three of the four alleged perpetrators.
Two of the individuals apprehended were juveniles, while one, Ruslan Turko, 19, was arrested and placed in the county jail.
Turko faces felony first-degree mischief charges, which may result in a 10-year prison sentence and a $20,000 fine.
It’s unclear what prompted authorities to charge him with first-degree mischief, which is reserved for persons who destroy emergency vehicles, interfere with airplanes to cause damage or inflict more than $5,000 in damage to another property.
Turko did not damage an emergency vehicle or mess with an aircraft, and it appears highly doubtful that the city will spend more than $5,000 to paint over the tire tracks he left on the mural.
Following the event, Lime Scooters, the business that rents scooters to cities, criticized the mural vandalism and is trying to create a no-ride zone surrounding the painting, which will deactivate the scooters if a rider attempts to drive over it.
Given that the artwork is on the road, it is unknown how much disruption this will cause for ordinary scooter users.
Police across the country have taken strong action against anyone who leaves tire tracks on pride murals placed on roads that automobiles are intended to drive on. In Florida, authorities launched a manhunt to find someone who left tire tracks after doing damage to a pride mural.
Police have yet to locate the perpetrator.
Source: themainewire.com