Armed citizens moved to defend businesses in Kenosha Monday night as rioters torched the city, targeting businesses for the second night in a row.
Protests swept the city as arsonists brazenly targeted businesses. Jorge Ventura, a field reporter for the Daily Caller, was on the scene and caught up with armed citizens attempting to stop the angry rioters from destroying businesses:
“Nobody fuck with the business owners,” one man said in a video showing two armed men walking beside a building.
“They’re probably with you. Fuck with the government,” another shouted.
“These guys [business powers] are probably out here with the BLM protesters,” one of the men, hailing from Milwaukee, told Ventura. “They don’t want the government to shoot people. They’re against the government too, probably. The government fucks them every day. Taxes, shit like that.”
He made it clear that he believes the officer-involved Kenosha shooting incident is “bullshit” but drew the line at protesters destroying businesses:
Several videos from reporters on the ground show protesters vandalizing businesses and buildings completely engulfed by flames:
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) appeared to stand in solidarity with protesters, referring to the officer-involved incident, which is still being investigated, as “another attack against a Black man” and declaring racism a “public health crisis.”
“As folks across our state are making their voices heard, they should be able to assemble and report on these issues without any fear of being unsafe. If you are exercising that right, please do so peacefully, wear your masks, and keep physical distance as best as you can,” he said on Monday, prior to the second night of lawlessness:
Pete Deates, president of the Kenosha Professional Police Association, blasted Evers for his initial response to the incident, calling it “wholly irresponsible and not reflective of the hardworking members of the law enforcement community, not to mention the citizens of the City of Kenosha.”