Free Republic

Pharmacies were once abundant in the South Side of Chicago. Now, residents living in the majority Black neighborhood often find themselves with few options when it’s time to get a prescription refilled or stock up on cold medicine. Ladell Johnson, a longtime resident of the South Side, drives half an hour from her house to the downtown area every time she needs to pick up her prescription. “Luckily, this pharmacy is close to where I work, but my house is half an hour away by car or one hour by bus,” she said. “If I didn’t have a car, I...

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Police have released photos of five people they’re trying to identify in connection with riots in Pittsburgh. Police are looking for five people they say are suspected of throwing “various objects” at police during protests downtown on May 30. The man with a black shirt, bicycle and tattoo on his upper left arm is accused of throwing multiple objects that hit police. Police say the man in a gray shirt with long black shorts threw multiple objects at officers, burglarized businesses and broke store windows. The bald man in gray shorts, a dark t-shirt, a dark jacket...

A body was discovered in the rubble of a pawn shop that rioters burned down in the wake of George Floyd’s death in police custody. Investigators going through the burned wreckage at Max It Pawn on Lake Street in Minneapolis found a dead body of what is believed to be an adult male. A Minnesota resident, 25-year-old Montez Terriel Lee, was charged last month with arson of the pawn shop. Being that the body found in the rubble “appeared to have suffered thermal injuries,” investigators believe there is a connection between the arson and the death, John Elder, a Minneapolis...

Durham police arrested 23 people in connection with the vandalism and protest at the former Durham Police Department Headquarters Saturday evening. Officers arrived at 505 West Chapel Hill Street Saturday evening and found protesters gathered in front of the building and others breaking windows. Damaged furniture and spray-painted graffiti were found on several floors. Police said one man was assaulted by several members of the crowd and was thrown to the ground. He was treated at the scene by EMS. Officers ordered the crowd to disperse but several people refused to leave, according to police. The following arrests were made:...

The death of George Floyd triggered a wave of protests and violent mayhem across the country as demonstrators demanded justice and a reckoning against racial injustice and police brutality. In Portland, Oregon’s largest city, those demonstrations have raged for six weeks straight, and local businesses have reported $23 million in losses due to looting and rioting that have gripped its downtown area since the end of May. Demonstrators have been seen lighting mattresses on fire and setting off fireworks in the streets. Just this weekend, a federal officer protecting a closed courthouse was struck in the head and shoulder with...

For 46 nights, downtown Portland has been the scene out of a post-apocalyptic graphic novel with shadowy black-clad, tattooed antifa and Black Lives Matter rioters taking hammers and skateboards to bash-in the windows of banks, public buildings, and the heads of federal officers. But now the Portland mayor says the riots are President Trump’s fault. The Mark O. Hatfield Justice Center, Portland’s federal courthouse, has been under siege nearly every night by rioters attempting to bash in the doors, set fires, and loot it. -snip But, sure, Mayor Ted Wheeler says it’s all President Donald Trump’s fault for “escalating” the already-occurring riots...

A video of an Oregon protester is going viral after an unidentified person was seen holding a baby as a human shield. Drew Hernandez, a host and reporter for the web show “Lives Matter,” uploaded a series of Twitter videos late Saturday documenting Antifa and Black Lives Matter protests in Portland. Although details surrounding the gatherings are unclear, Hernandez posted a video of an unidentified person holding a baby while walking between protesters and federal officers during a violent demonstration. Hernandez wrote that the person was “using a baby as a human shield.” The video has since been viewed more...

President Trump has denied a request from Minnesota’s governor for money to rebuild parts of Minneapolis that were destroyed during the riots following the death of George Floyd. “The Governor is disappointed that the federal government declined his request for financial support,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's office said in a statement. “As we navigate one of the most difficult periods in our state’s history, we look for support from our federal government to help us through.” Walz, a Democrat, requested that Trump declare Minnesota a “major disaster” zone in a request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency on July 2...

As Minnesota leaders pondered their next steps, it's not yet clear what other sources of funds they may tap. Denied federal aid to help rebuild burned-out, vandalized businesses in the wake of riots that followed George Floyd’s killing, Minnesota leaders pondered their next steps Saturday. But it’s not yet clear what other sources of funds they may tap. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Friday denied Gov. Tim Walz’s request for nearly $16 million in aid to help rebuild and repair structures in Minneapolis and St. Paul, many of them left in ruins by the riots and fires that...

A Black Lives Matter mural outside of Chicago was painted over to read "All Lives Matter" earlier this week, the latest occurrence of what has become a nationwide trend in recent weeks of vandals defacing similar BLM murals, as the U.S. painfully comes to terms with an evolving public dialogue centered around racism following the death of George Floyd. 'Black Lives Matter' mural painted in NYC NEW YORK, USA - JUNE 15: An aerial view of 'Black Lives Matter' mural painting is seen on Fulton ... KEY FACTS A portion of a street mural, which had been completed just two...

Protesters can often be heard chanting, “Stay together, stay tight! We do this every night” in the streets of downtown Portland. The second half of the slogan is especially fitting as the riots continued for the 41st consecutive night Wednesday in downtown Portland. Terry Schrunk Plaza was the scene of a loose gathering of about 100 people Terry Schrunk Plaza on Wednesday evening. A group of federal police officers ran through the area at about 9:30 p.m. and some protesters claimed the officers used pepper spray. Others said the officers were responding to someone using a laser. The scene quickly...

Atlanta, GA – Following weeks of dramatically increased violent crime and property destruction in the City of Atlanta, the July Fourth weekend saw over thirty Georgians wounded by gunfire, including five confirmed dead. Today Governor Kemp issued Executive Order 07.06.20.01, which declares a State of Emergency across Georgia and authorizes the activation of as many as 1,000 Georgia National Guard troops. “Peaceful protests were hijacked by criminals with a dangerous, destructive agenda. Now, innocent Georgians are being targeted, shot, and left for dead,” said Governor Kemp. “This lawlessness must be stopped and order restored in our capital city. I have...

Hundreds of protesters returned Friday to the home of the couple who confronted demonstrators with firearms on June 28 in St. Louis, Missouri. “Protesters marched along the busy public boulevard called Kingshighway, which intersects with Portland Place, a private street that is the site of the Renaissance palazzo-style home of Mark McCloskey, 61, and his 63-year-old wife, Patricia,” according to Yahoo! News. Protesters march past the Portland Place neighborhood in the Central West End. #protests2020 #CWE #marchtothemayorshouse #proteststl #BlackLivesMatter #portlandplace #McCloskeys pic.twitter.com/qkkrVEfb1E — Jennifer Sarti (@JenniferSarti10) July 4, 2020 The article continued: Chanting protesters on Friday stopped at the gate...

SHERWOOD, Ark. — Protesters supporting the Black Lives Matter movement blocked the entrances and exits of two Arkansas Walmart locations Sunday afternoon, forcing the stores to close. Dozens of demonstrators, chanting “Black lives matter,” “Defund the police” and “Defund Walmart,” marched in front of Walmart locations in Jacksonville and Sherwood, KARK reported. A few protesters at each site carried signs that read, “Walmart is destroying public education,” among other messages. The retail giant is based in Bentonville, Arkansas, but it was not immediately clear if proximity to the corporate headquarters had any bearing on Sunday’s protests. According to the Arkansas...

Source: Twitter/Screenshot Short video at link. One of the biggest issues that have come out of the George Floyd protests is the looting and destruction that has caused havoc across the nation. People were rioting and looting, all in the name of George Floyd, yet they did nothing to actually help spark the conversation about police reforms. But attorney and rapper Gysai Ross believes the looters did something good. "Thank goodness, thank goodness — you know, people, looters got a bad name during the George Floyd protests. But thank goodness for the looters, man. You have a place called...

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A spike in gun violence has left over 100 people wounded or killed in dozens of shootings across New York City over the past nine days, police said Sunday.

If the officer involved in the Minneapolis incident with Floyd (and his fellow officers on the scene) had simply followed procedure, subdued the suspect, handcuffed him and taken him into custody, the riots, the burning down of businesses, the tearing down of statues, the shootings of police officers and all the other mayhem that's occurred over the past month would not have happened. I know I'm stating the obvious.

Health and safety concerns appear to be contributing to a surge in gun sales. Background checks in Minnesota spiked in March as COVID-19 hit the United States, with more than 96,000 filed — the most for any month in 20 years. Kory Krause, the owner of Frontiersman Sports in St. Louis Park, says demand again grew following George Floyd’s death last month, and it is still climbing. “People are really scared coming in here,” Krause said. “We had a three, four hour wait just to get up to the counter during the height of … the rioting.”

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers activated the National Guard on Wednesday after protesters toppled two statues, vandalized buildings and a state senator was attacked outside the Capitol during a night of violence that erupted following daylong protests. The guardsmen will protect state properties and "make sure people can exercise their First Amendment rights while ensuring the safety of members of the public and state buildings and infrastructure," Gov. Tony Evers said. The unrest that unfolded Tuesday night began after 200 to 300 protesters marched through downtown Madison and escalated once they reached the state Capitol grounds. Some tried breaking into the...

The thunderous sound of fireworks — their blasts sudden, deafening and often terrifyingly similar to gunfire — have reverberated throughout the Bay Area in recent weeks. Residents in the big cities and even in the quieter suburbs report the explosions started over Memorial Day weekend and have persisted through June, waking them in the night, interrupting their babies' naps and scaring their pets. Fireworks packaging has been found around Lake Merritt in Oakland, and Nextdoor boards and Twitter are filling up with news of the booms and bangs in San Francisco. "I’m losing my mind," said SF resident J. Barry....