Black History Month: 2020 BLM George Floyd riots

By Robin Itzler

Editor's Note:  This is one of the commentaries selected from Robin's weekly newsletter Patriot Neighbors. Any cartoons appearing will have been added by me.  If you wish to get the full edition, E-mail her at PatriotNeighbors@yahoo.com to get on her list, it's free. RK

In May 2020, leftists got what they had been waiting years for when thug George Floyd resisted arrest while under the influence of drugs and later died. If Floyd had been White, this would not have made much news, but he was Black.

 

For the next two weeks and throughout the summer, there were “mostly peaceful” riots in many major cities. The rallying cry was “Black Lives Matter.” If you even emoted a response that would be along the lines of, “Yes, black lives matter but all lives matter” you were hounded by woke mob hysteria.

In “Congress Should Investigate the Black Lives Matter Riots,” Mike Gonzalez wrote in 2023 that leftist agitators had been patiently waiting and planning for years on how to disrupt and transform America. It has been estimated that property damage in 20 states from the Black Lives Matter/George Floyd Riots (May 26 to June 8, 2020) totaled $2 BILLION.

Let’s look at some results of BLM and its communist antifa cohorts because of the 2020 “mostly peaceful” riots:

• More than 1,500 businesses in Minneapolis and St. Paul was destroyed, many were small businesses that were not insured
• There was $500+ MILLION in damage to the Twin Cities, making the protests the second-costliest riots in U.S. history. The 1992 Rodney King riots are in first place.
• 95% of the 520 misdemeanor citations issued to protesters in Minneapolis were dismissed.
• Just in Minneapolis, the rioting cost insurers at least $25 million dollars.
• About 450 businesses in New York City were looted or damaged, tens of million dollars in damage.
• Seattle lost in court in 2023 and agreed to reimburse business owners $3.6 million for damages caused by 2020 Black Lives Matter and Antifa riots.
• Downtown Cleveland Alliance estimated that there were $6 million in damages to businesses with many small businesses uninsured.
• Since 2020, Denver has paid out $28+ million in settlements and claims
• In Portland, the cleaning and repair bill for federal buildings damaged during protests exceeded $2 million.

Following the “mostly peaceful” riots, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) departments sprang up at government agencies, universities and corporations. The focus was on everything but merit. 

Thankfully, one of President Trump’s first executive orders was to rid DEI (under any name) from all federal government agencies. Many national and international corporations are doing the same, a trend that started in late 2024.

Read Congress Should Investigate the BLM Riots by Mike Gonzalez.