1/n I want to talk about why this doesn't hold up, @jeffmason1. Black Lives Matter and other groups protesting in 2020 never attempted to assassinate heads of state. They were seeking to uphold the constitution, not torch it. LEO response was so strong it violated human rights.

2/n The police response to those protests was so strong we had a hearing. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper testified about the military role in wake of the killing of George Floyd. https://t.co/Tn0UcbpNn0
3/n Milley said, "I have many policemen in my family, and I am personally outraged by George Floyd's brutal and senseless killing. The protests that have ensued not only speak to this injustice, but also to centuries of injustice towards Black Americans...https://t.co/Tn0UcbpNn0
4/n..We, as a nation and as a military, are still struggling with racism, and we have much work to do." Milley said the vast majority of protests were peaceful. "Peaceful protests mean that American freedom is working." He talked about the response, too. https://t.co/Tn0UcbpNn0
5/n Milley: "I...advised it was not necessary to employ active-duty troops in response to the civil unrest." "It was my view then and...now, that local, state and federal police backed by the Nat. Guard under governor" could handle the situation. So, what was the response like?
6/n An investigation through @amnestyusa found the response was not insufficient but so forceful as to violate human rights and elicit a warning against authoritarianism. The report includes these excerpts: https://t.co/nJ322BPFkF
7/n Amnesty's human rights legal commentary "Excessive use of force against peaceful protesters violates the U.S. Constitution and international human rights law. While the majority have been peaceful, police used disproportionate and indiscriminate force against demonstrations."
8/n There is also the self-identified Antifa man who killed someone over the summer. The president told an audience at a rally, in a display likely to provoke violence, that federal forces simply killed the man and never attempted to take him alive. https://t.co/GxU4Njwd53
9/n Again the US lands on another list for not complying with standards in line with its own constitution and/or international human rights, which have been the same since 1950s. https://t.co/fM9M1t7Qin
10/n The reports show people who lost eyes, and many people in media who identified themselves and who were assaulted. I spoke with a video journalist who was hit with a can of tear gas. LEO knew who he was because he works locally and has worked with them before.
11/n 14,000 people were arrested in protests over the summer, but what's more important is your mischaracterization of the violent and most extreme behavior. Analyses of the violent events found leftist extremists, but that was not the majority. https://t.co/yttNiW9WOj
12/n Most worrisome was that there were also links between law enforcement and far-right extremists, in multiple locations, which is consistent with the FBI investigation into infiltration of law enforcement.
13/n Trump's former Dep Chief of Homeland Security @NeuSummits who said, "We have the president not only pretty much refusing to condemn, but throwing fuel on the fire, creating opportunities for more recruitment through his rhetoric." https://t.co/3V4Kegv10w
@NeuSummits 14/n FBI Director Wray also warned about far-right extremism being the biggest threat. DHS circulated a memo that said lone offender white supremacists and other lone offenders with “personalized ideologies” pose the greatest threat of deadly violence. https://t.co/BQSrgzAvMb
@NeuSummits 15/n Another analysis of all 2020 violence found this. The response this summer was excessive, this threat was foreseeable, and the administration failed to respond to extremist threats. This stance reflects a negligent lack of knowledge or a bad faith deflection @jeffmason1

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