Mike Pence Throws Down: Charlotte Protesters Have 'No Right to Engage in Violence Against Our Citizens or Our Police'

As he appeared before supporters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Republican Vice Presidential nominee Mike Pence said the rioters in Charlotte, North Carolina, have every right to protest but no right at all to engage in violence.

Pence started out his address with his standard stump speech saying that Donald Trump is “a doer in a game usually reserved for talkers.” Pence added that Trump “tells it like it is” and refuses to “tiptoe around all those thousands of rules of political correctness” put in people’s way by the media. But a few minutes into his address the Indiana Governor took some time to discuss the rioting in Charlotte.

After noting that Donald Trump is a major supporter of our soldiers, Prnce departed from his normal speech to denote the “heartbreaking news” of the second night of rioting in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Pence had a pointed message for the rioters.

“Now, let me be clear,” Pence said gravely. “Donald Trump and I and every American, we stand by the right of every citizen in this country to peaceably assemble. To protest and to demonstrate and to stand up for their convictions. That’s what a free and open society is really all about.”

Yet after advocating for peaceful protest, Governor Pence had a stark warning for those who disrupted Charlotte the night before.

“But there’s no right to engage in violence against our citizens or our police,” he said.

Pence went on to slam Hillary Clinton for seemingly siding with the rioters.

“Any loss of life regardless of circumstances is a tragedy,” Pence said. “But sadly our opponent once again refers to what she calls the ‘institutional racism’ in law enforcement. She referred this week again to the ‘systemic racism’ in law enforcement in this country.”

But Pence stood up for America’s police, reminding his audience that “police officers are human beings” and insisting that they deserve their due process like every other American. “When there is a loss of life involved in police action the American people expect thorough, immediate, and transparent investigation,” into such incidents.

“Donald Trump and I believe the men and women in law enforcement are not a force for racism in America, they are a force for good. They stand for our families, they protect our homes and they deserve our support and respect,” Pence said.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.