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14 December 2020 Washington, D.C. Yon-Genre, unedited mind dump: This is intended for journalists -- the few still on the field -- and peaceful people. I spent all day Saturday, 12 December 2020, with various protest groups in Washington, D.C. I believed the probability for violence was 90 percent. And it happened. Numerous stabbings, beatings, large fireworks, pepper spray, arrests, etc. Long time readers know that I spent years in serious wars, and more years in serious conflicts short of war but that were often as violent as war. And yet more time in lower-level conflict. This stuff is second...

The purchase orders include requests for disposable cuffs, gas masks, ballistic helmets, and riot gloves, along with law enforcement protective equipment for federal police assigned to protect Veterans Affairs facilities. The orders were expedited under a special authorization “in response to Covid-19 outbreak.” The Veterans Affairs department, which manages nearly 1,500 health care care facilities around the country, has also extended special contracts for coronavirus-related security services.

The Trump administration is preparing to restore the flow of surplus military equipment to local law enforcement agencies under a program that had been sharply curtailed amid an outcry over police use of armored vehicles and other war-fighting gear to confront protesters. Documents obtained by The Associated Press indicate President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order undoing an Obama administration directive that restricted police agencies’ access to the gear that includes grenade launchers, bullet-proof vests, riot shields, firearms and ammunition. Trump’s order would fully restore the program under which “assets that would otherwise be scrapped can be repurposed...

By Jane Morice, cleveland.com on July 18, 2016 at 12:18 PM, updated July 18, 2016 at 12:31 PM CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams dispelled rumors that officers seen on bicycles Sunday at an anti-Trump protest were in what some called "riot gear." The chief said during a Monday morning press update that the officers were in padded Motocross bike-style gear. They had been using the gear on a different detail and were called in to help out with the protest. Williams added that Cleveland police don't use the term riot gear. They wear a form protective gear...

<p>As the U.S. engages in a national debate over the militarization of the police, federal data shows that government agencies charged with largely administrative roles are spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to purchase SWAT and military-style equipment.</p> <p>Since FY 2006, 44 traditionally administrative agencies have spent over $71 million on items like body armor, riot helmets and shields, cannon launchers and police firearms and ammunition, according to federal spending data from watchdog group OpenTheBooks.com.</p>

In an effort to outfit law enforcement officers who work for the Federal Protective Service (FPS0, DHS has issued a small business set-aside solicitation for a wide variety of personnel protective equipment, including upper body and shoulder protection, thigh-groin protectors, hard shell shin guards, riot helmets, tactical gloves and much more. The items, quantities and characteristics of the required gear were outlined in a solicitation issued on June 10 by the office of the chief procurement officer at DHS. Included in that equipment roster, which had to be “Brand Name or Equal,” were: 111 Centurion CPX2500 Soft Shell Riot Control...

The Department of Homeland Security has ordered masses of riot gear equipment to prepare for potential significant domestic riots at the Republican National Convention, Democratic National Convention and next year’s presidential inauguration. The DHS submitted a rushed solicitation to the Federal Business Opportunities site on Wednesday, which is a portal for Federal government procurement requisitions over $25,000. The request gave the potential suppliers only one day to submit their proposals and a 15-day delivery requirement to Alexandria, Virginia. As the brief explains, “the objective of this effort is to procure riot gear to prepare for the 2012 Democratic and Republican...

The Arizona town that's become a YouTube sensation for its police department hauling away a woman speaking at a town-hall meeting declared a state of emergency this afternoon, leaving many local residents in fear of what officers dressed in full riot gear might do. Jennifer "Jade" Jones, 45, the woman forcibly removed by police from a recent public meeting in Quartzsite, Ariz., despite the vocal objections of the mayor, says an illegal secret meeting was held today with the public locked out of the building. "About noon today, the town council, at the request of the police chief, declared an...

HARARE - President Robert Mugabe has ordered Z$10 billion worth of arms and anti-riot equipment from China, ZimOnline has learnt. Well-placed sources said Mugabe negotiated the arms supply deal when he met a joint delegation of government and private business representatives from Beijing in Harare two weeks ago. The Chinese delegation returned home last week. Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi, who helped Mugabe negotiate the deal, last night confirmed that the government held defence and trade talks with the Chinese. But he would not be drawn to disclose the details of the negotiations. Sekeramayi said: "There were discussions which centred on...