Not really sure how the US should have responded but it obviously wasn’t right... I would think that the default would be for the democratic rights of the people (ie. the rioters). This seems to be an option that is obscure to the current White House...
Not sure if they are rioting in Cairo, but if our government shut down the Internet, shutdown cell phone service, banned certain political groups, abolished the electoral system and tortured political opponents, we would be in the streets rioting.
I’m not all that sure why the people of Cairo should not have the same desires for freedom as people in America.
“Democratic rights” in an islamite’s eyes is the ability to kill infidels with impunity.