That wasn't what was happening. Suppressing protest with soldiers - which is usually justified by dictators with the excuse of 'order' - is extreme and anti-freedom.
The paradox of government force, and the need to manage that paradox, has been one of the foundational questions -- the foundational question to some -- of liberal philosophy since its first writers. Freedom isn't just freedom from the government, it's also freedom from others who might hurt you and destroy the place you live.
It's worth pointing out the Minneapolis police department completely abandoned the city to let burn.
I witnessed some of the 'riots'; what I saw was perfectly safe except for a very small physical area - maybe spots of, very approximately, 50 sq ft - and even there you were probably safe.
There was no danger to the public, some danger to some windows. I've seen worse in team victory celebrations. I saw much worse at the Capitol, where they were beating people and some died.
You didn’t see worse at the capitol, because that was a riot at a government building and private sector people were not at risk.
If someone crashes into a streetlight, is that an offense against society? Obviously not.
> 25 people were killed in the riots and there was $2 billion in property damage.
In the entire country? And is there a source for it?
Sorry about your fro-yo and coffee. The places I know have long forgotten the 'riots'.
> private sector people were not at risk.
People died. Does it not matter because they worked for the government? How about the democracy and government of people in the private sector? I think boiling it down to property is much too convenient.
If you do it on purpose, yes.
> Sorry about your fro-yo and coffee. The places I know have long forgotten the 'riots'.
There’s tons of evidence that riots lead to long term depopulation of the neighborhoods where they happened.
> Does it not matter because they worked for the government?
Yes. This is America, not Europe: https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jeffers...
> If you do it on purpose, yes.
Well I guess "an offense against society" is undefined, but that is an extreme reaction. There are matters of degree in everything, and those degrees are everything. The state prosecutes lots of crimes, from shoplifting to mass murder - to call them all "an offense against society" becomes meaningless.
> > Does it not matter because they worked for the government?
> Yes.
Killing people doesn't matter if those people work for the government. Wow.
That’s literally what it is. That’s why the court case is styled State/Commonwealth/People v. Streetlightcrasher. You can quibble about whether the government “is” society but that argument makes you sound like a fringe libertarian.
offense: an illegal act; a crime
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/offen...
My city had 100s of stores ransacked with groups of cars with 100s of people all working together. Say what you want about opportunists - riots happened.
?
> federal courthouse in Portland
What about it? Did it burn down? How many were injured?
> streamers for months were showing people looting
It's interesting that people criticize the professional news media, then believe whatever they see on social media.
> riots happened
I expect some did, depending on the definition of riot, but that's not 'nationwide rioting' and a call to use the military to suppress the great majority of peaceful protests.
If they are harming others or causing significant material damage, that's another story, but even that is a matter of degree (especially the latter).