The State can only rule by force.
That is the sum of political theory. Once you have the monopoly of violence, you can tell others what to do.
What we are seeing is that monopoly breaking down.
The interesting thing is that I really expected something like this to start at the Bundy ranch, not St Louis.
Citizens can rule the state, or the state can rule citizens. I would not characterize this as breaking down, but cracking down. And I expect these actions in the beginning. First go after criminals and then criminalize and dehumanize your enemies.
The ovens weren’t lit in 35, but the smell of sulfur was in the air.