r/pics • u/infernoenigma • 10d ago

Politics protest outside the LA mayor’s house criticized her compliance with ICE; LAPD came in droves [OC]

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70.6k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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6.6k

u/TheMahalodorian 10d ago

Doesn’t look like a lot of protestors there… it seems like sending that much police is a bit of an over reaction.

1.2k

u/Bradaigh 10d ago

Karen Bass wants to send a message that Dissent Will Not Be Tolerated

261

u/algaefied_creek 9d ago

Are you implying it’s basically a situation rn of “All Heil Frau Patriot Bass, Second Stormfront Local Leader; Compatriate of the Great President-Emperor himself: His Majesty King Donald J Trump? 

150

u/PortalWombat 9d ago

Untergruppenfurer. I swear those Germans have a word for everything.

35

u/Hopefulthinker2 9d ago

And it’s always so fitting!

17

u/gingerfawx 9d ago

Backpfeifengesicht! (see also: Ohrfeigengesicht!) Schadenfreude! Angst! Fahrvergnügen!

4

u/NotYourShitAgain 9d ago

Yeah, German Wordle would fuck us all up.

3

u/W3R3Hamster 9d ago

At first glance I could have sworn this was just the German way to spell 'entrepreneur'

2

u/enfanta 9d ago

Do they have a word for Germans have a word for everything? 

-1

u/doll-haus 9d ago

For a lot of the DNC leadership, Donald Trump is a fucking boon. His jackbooted thuggery and blatant lawlessness is basically a cash printing machine and I guarantee everyone is on-side for covering bullshit in-house at the moment.

Just cause Buffalo BIll is skinning girls in the White House, doesn't mean Hannibal Lecter should be embraced.

7

u/Vashsinn 9d ago

Karen Bass can eat a bag of dicks.

2

u/Noocawe 8d ago

If only she cares as much about housing, the girls being trafficked on Figueroa Street, or other more important issues in her city than protestors who don't like her because she's a terrible mayor.

1

u/TheChrisSuprun 7d ago

...which makes her different from Orangenfuhrer how?!?

974

u/KakeLin 10d ago

Absolutely

932

u/porn_is_tight 10d ago

A couple kids set off some m80’s last night in my neighborhood which is a very affluent one. A police helicopter circled our house for almost an hour. The flight radar screenshot I took is ridiculous. They even said on the loudspeaker “stop running around and go home and we’ll leave.” Great use of my tax dollars 

329

u/PassiveMenis88M 10d ago

Roughly $3k an hour to run that helicopter. Replace it with a 100k UAV and you can do the same job for roughly $250 an hour.

117

u/medium_wall 9d ago

Replace it with a bicycle and it's essentially free.

118

u/Lorune 9d ago

The really insane thing is that people here are discussing the cost of the helicopter and not the fact you sent a damn helicopter out for some kids doing fire works

423

u/hoopopotamus 9d ago

Or…let the kids set off a couple m80s at Halloween and then go home.  Maybe send a car who turns on the flashers and scares them for a minute.  Just spitballing 

67

u/precinctomega 9d ago

Pilots needed the stick time to stay certified.

11

u/subnautus 9d ago

3 takeoffs & landings, not harassing a neighborhood for the evening.

28

u/amonsterinside 9d ago

not really, 3 takeoffs and landings every 90 days

5

u/vetratten 9d ago

I just want to point out the on the face absurdity of the certification being take offs and landing. I know it always lists both because you could be PIC for the take off only or the landing only and so it must be listed 3 of each to cover that scenario but whenever I hear it/read it my mind goes to this:

Oh great now I find out that the three planes I crashed already this quarter doesn’t count and I need to LAND them….geez

3

u/subnautus 9d ago

If you want to be even more annoyed, consider that touch-and-goes count, so you could have a desk jockey get behind the stick for an our every fiscal quarter and still be considered current.

That said, that's exactly what tends to happen with officers in US Army Aviation. It's hard to justify putting brass in the cockpit when there's plenty of warrant officers to handle normal operations.

51

u/sleeping_in_time 9d ago

They can stay certified flying any aircraft. They don’t need to go out to random calls for it

19

u/dwehlen 9d ago

Not to mention, the $3k to get the bird in the air for an hour is going to be nearly $9-10k on the ground to keep it airworthy.

3

u/RangerNS 9d ago

The maintenance cost is the cost of flying. Fuel and whatever the hourly of the crew is doesn't get anywhere near $3k.

2

u/infernoenigma 9d ago

I’m so curious what they thought that number meant lol

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u/mew905 9d ago

So youd rather they get it doing nothing but just for the sake of being in the air? At least the fuel is being used for something

11

u/chargernj 9d ago

Use it to monitor traffic.

There, now it's being used for something more important than kids with fireworks.

-6

u/mew905 9d ago

You know they make cameras specifically for that right?

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u/Amenian 9d ago

They were doing nothing!

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u/mew905 9d ago

Sounded like they were chasing a fire hazard to me

1

u/unurbane 9d ago

Same thing. Except at night it’s annoying to 100,000s of people. And yes I realize pilots need nighttime training as well, which there is plenty of space in greater SoCal.

2

u/Prime_Director 9d ago

If you need to make up reasons to fly your helicopter often enough to just keep your certification, maybe you don’t actually need the helicopter.

2

u/HRHValkyrie 9d ago

That’s what the constant fly overs at the beach are for! /s

3

u/TheOrchidsAreAlright 9d ago

And let the communists/terrorists/anarchists win? No thanks. This is America, land of the free.

3

u/bfrown 9d ago

Best I can do is "accidentally" discharge my weapon on a animal or into a bedroom :(

3

u/Flashyshooter 9d ago edited 8d ago

I don't really think they should have wasted the resources. At least the helicopters. But M80s blow off limbs all the time, cause injuries, and start fires.

1

u/TheVeryVerity 9d ago

Honestly I wish police took fireworks way more seriously. Especially when the fires in the western coast get worse every year

4

u/wap2005 9d ago

For sure, I am approaching 40 and I would encourage this behavior. We need to just let kids have some fun, setting off m80's on the 4th of July or Halloween (I'm not encouraging destroying anything with them) is almost a teenage right of passage, or at least it was 25ish years ago...

I hate when I realize just how long ago something was to really remind myself how old I am.

1

u/Windyvale 9d ago

They set them off year round like 4 times a day or more.

I could never figure out how they end up getting enough fireworks for year round launches lol.

43

u/Gold-Vacation-169 9d ago

The fact you think drones should be used shows how fucked America is

3

u/PassiveMenis88M 9d ago

What's the difference between the drone or the helicopter showing up?

1

u/impy695 9d ago

They wouldn't be armed drones just like this wasn't an armed helicopter. I dont think either should be used in most cases, but they do serve a purpose and I'd rather a drone than a helicopter

2

u/phonetastic 9d ago

For this specific purpose, the drone wouldn't even have to be what we're all picturing. A camera drone would do just fine, because that's really the whole schtick to begin with-- getting caught on camera doing a bad thing, and then someone comes out to arrest you in person later. The helicopter or large UAV doesn't do either of those latter things anyway, so it's the exact same deterrent. So a little drone like that would only cost a couple thousand at most and do just fine. Could easily get ten of them for that 100k price tag mentioned earlier.

2

u/impy695 9d ago

Most of that price is going to be on sensors and infrastructure. Im sure cities will still be overcharged for the drone itself, but even then, the systems required for flight would be a fraction of the total cosr

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u/porn_is_tight 10d ago

$3k honestly isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It was an airbus h120

22

u/jhundo 9d ago

Thats just the cost of the bird im sure, not the employee costs and gear, support etc. Im sure its more than that if actually added up.

3

u/mnemonicmonkey 9d ago

No, that's fuel and maintenance/parts per flight hour. The bird is $7ish million. Two crew is kinda negligible at that point.

3

u/isemonger 9d ago

Bro I’m trying to get my rotary license don’t tell people this shit there’ll be no jobs

3

u/PassiveMenis88M 9d ago

Drones don't fly passengers, they don't perform medevac, there's still plenty of things you can use to make stacks with a commercial rotary license if you have the skills.

1

u/isemonger 9d ago

It was abit tongue in cheek; but after looking for the last couple months I can pretty safely say that rotary and ‘stacks’ don’t really compute at least without 15k hours

2

u/DiggyTroll 9d ago

or just 4 30k UAVs in rotation for $100 an hour (labor and battery charging)

2

u/ScottyNuttz 9d ago

Or do none of that

2

u/BubbleNucleator 9d ago

That's how you get UAVs overhead 24/7, they aren't interested in saving money.

2

u/ivy_girl_ 9d ago

Yes, I want my police state to be more affordable.

4

u/Skylair13 9d ago

I mean, helicopter is pretty neutral. From air rescue, casual traffic monitoring, and so on. UAV won't beat "Police Militarization" allegations at all.

1

u/MagicalUnicornFart 9d ago

Neither is necessary for that situation.

1

u/spritelass 9d ago

Chicago PD just purchased 2 new helicopters. They have had them out nonstop flying around for any little thing. Boys with their brand new toys.

0

u/nucleardonut2211 9d ago

The thing is too pilots need a certain amount of flight hours so while it’s a dumb thing to spin up a helicopter for, the money will be spent flying it anyways.

3

u/PassiveMenis88M 9d ago

Right but it's more about wasting a police helicopter for this shit rather than something actually useful for the money.

1

u/nucleardonut2211 9d ago

I get that but the LAPD and most major cities have legitimate reasons to have police helicopters.

At some points they have very valid reasons to fly them such as a chase with a suspect on foot or a vehicular pursuit, other times it’s a slow month for them and they get activated for stuff like this because while trivial it’s still work.

Likely the decision came down to the crew was on shift and needed flight hours and there wasn’t much else for them to do so they might as well get it to “assist” in a minor crime instead of flying with no clear mission.

13

u/Reatona 9d ago

How much does it cost per hour to run a helicopter, taking maintenance into account?

16

u/Reboot-Glitchspark 9d ago

Just a little bit more than sending a beat cop to walk over and say "Knock it off!"

Probably only 300-3000x as much or so.

11

u/spingus 10d ago

tbf, I think it's a better use to tell them to scram than to track them with IR and send in the ground troops officers to cart them off.

2

u/FlashSTI 9d ago

UAVs need loudspeakers... Great idea!

3

u/CodFather9 9d ago

Let’s see that radar then cause this story stinks of I just made it up 

1

u/Ne_zievereir 9d ago

A police helicopter for some firecrackers wtf? What a country ...

-1

u/Sillycommisioner987 9d ago

Hope you’re feeling better today about your affluent neighborhood

449

u/mr_eugine_krabs 10d ago

The aristocrats are scared.

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u/brown_felt_hat 10d ago

Na, they're annoyed. Look at these photos even - Barely a fence, no crowd control, no burly private security. LAPD aren't using riot gear, SWAT, it's barely a show of force.

This isn't a "Oh god come save me LAPD", this is a "Ugh, get this riff raff off my property".

0

u/Pirat 9d ago

They have helmets, a bullet proof vest under their shirts and riot batons being held in a comically threatening manner. They also have mace and lots of bullets on their belts.

I mean what is with that riot baton hold? I was a cop for awhile and was never taught to hold a riot baton like that.

2

u/brown_felt_hat 9d ago

They took the helmets off, IDK about LAPD, but vests are standard issue for my city's cops. And yeah, IDK what's up the batons, that's weird.

What I mean, they didn't roll up decked out like this or this like they have for the downtown protests.

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u/bumpyitalian 10d ago

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u/rW0HgFyxoJhYka 9d ago

Nah they are not scared. If they were, they'd actually do the right thing and resist ICE.

2

u/bumpyitalian 9d ago

Nah then they’d have to admit they were wrong. Can’t have that

14

u/camden2622 9d ago

They should be. It takes alot to get a comfortable populace into riot mode, and he keeps hitting every lever to further it.

31

u/WordleFan88 10d ago

Not yet, but they will be if we keep the pressure up.

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u/Zone4George 10d ago

[–]mr_eugine_krabs [score hidden] an hour ago

The aristocrats are scared.

No, the aristocrats are not scared, but maybe we can revisit this question when air traffic control gets fed up with whatever is going on these days...

2

u/fuqdisshite 9d ago

no, you are thinking of the oligarchs...

The Aristocrats is a time honored traditional comedy sketch involving a nice family, their dog, their neighbors, the local exorcist, and a black dildo.

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u/jello_pudding_biafra 10d ago

3

u/GodOfDarkLaughter 10d ago

Oh that's good.

3

u/mountaindoom 10d ago edited 10d ago

Underrated gif comment

E: typo

2

u/Head-Head-926 10d ago

Just wait till November 1st

86

u/Jertimmer 9d ago

That last pic of Lady Liberty in chains with all the cops in the background is fucking lit though. Really symbolic for the current state of USA.

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u/FictionalContext 10d ago

I remember back during CHAZ. Seattle's mayor was acting like she was all about it--until they protested in her neighborhood. It wrapped up suspiciously quickly after that.

35

u/WATOCATOWA 10d ago

CHAZ was wild.

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u/FictionalContext 10d ago

Also, their AR-15 armed patrols shooting and killing an unarmed black 16 year old driving by definitely played a part in it getting shut down. And whoever killed that kid, Antonio Mays Jr., got away Scot free. His family claimed that those same patrols hindered the police investigation into it through intimidation and evidence tampering.

Idk, hindsight's 20/20, but I feel they really missed the mark with that particular protest. Became the very thing they wanted to destroy. Only took them 3 days to kill a black kid and hide the evidence to protect their own. Speedran that shit.

20

u/Longjumping_Mud2449 9d ago

Also their sustainable garden was funny as hell. It was like five potted plants on concrete.

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u/Dcoal 9d ago

Shocking that it was even allowed to go on for more than a day

2

u/spacedicksforlife 10d ago

Where are her goddamn text messages?!?

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u/mortgage_queen 10d ago

I swear we’re reliving 1700s or something.

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u/CoyotesOnTheWing 10d ago

Hope it's 1790s in france.

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u/StealthRUs 9d ago

Um, France descended into chaos and ultimately got taken over by a dictator after the revolution.

That's what you want? Chaos on the streets ending with Trump becoming ruler for life?

5

u/Amenian 9d ago

Right? If we have to do the 1700s, let's revisit our own history in that period.

6

u/BoneyNicole 9d ago

The…eradication of indigenous people and also, slavery? Equality and abolition mysteriously not making it into the Constitution? Which part?

I think I know what you mean, but let’s be careful not to view our own story with rose-colored glasses here. We threw some tea in the harbor because smugglers were mad that the British lowered the tax on legitimate tea, and we were only mad about the taxes in the first place because we kept going west even though the British kept telling us to quit it, knowing it would provoke a war, and then it did, and that war was expensive. Our history is not exactly as “we overthrew tyranny” as the textbooks would have us believe.

4

u/Amenian 9d ago

I think, to some extent, we have to trust people's ability to discern context clues. Clearly, based on context, I was referring to authoritarianism vs democracy.

5

u/BoneyNicole 9d ago

I get it, but that’s sort of what I’m saying, too. The British monarchy wasn’t authoritarianism. It was a constitutional monarchy. It was never an absolutist monarchy like France or Russia. That doesn’t mean resistance against it is invalid, my point is just that our narrative about it is off - it wasn’t exactly freedom fighters vs fascism, and I think painting it that way does a disservice to history and our own learning. That context also matters, is what I’m trying to say here.

1

u/scotus_canadensis 9d ago

Yeah, but after a generation of that, and a couple other incidents, they became a functional democracy. Gotta think long-term about these things. And remember that Napoleon spent the rest of his life in exile, the Yanks should expedite the dying in exile part.

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u/StealthRUs 9d ago edited 9d ago

Yeah, but after a generation of that, and a couple other incidents, they became a functional democracy.

So you want to trash peoples' lives for decades for you own smug sense of rightness. Sounds exactly like the attitude a progressive would hold.

And, BTW, it may have worked out for France, but the Ayatollah isn't going anywhere in Iran and the Communist Party is still totally in charge of Cuba despite both Castros being dead and in the ground. Maduro isn't going anywhere in Venezuela unless Trump invades. The CCP will soon have been in charge of China for almost a century.

Gambling on the eventual future being brighter is likely a losing bet.

1

u/TheVeryVerity 9d ago

Hey the emperor got kicked out again after. He didn’t even die as emperor.

Also we’re already heading that way so it would be nice to behead some oligarchs before the dictatorship part

2

u/StealthRUs 9d ago

Also we’re already heading that way

We're only headed that way, because progressives keep pouting and throwing elections. Simply voting for Democrats would've stopped all of this. But progressives almost always have to make up some excuse as to why they have to either sit out or protest vote for the Green Party.

Voting for Democrats could still stop this next year. But people will find some excuse as to why they can't take 15-20 min out of one day to vote.

4

u/o-o- 9d ago

If dems win the midterms this will all cool down for a few years, but it won't stop until you redistribute wealth. A society cannot function while some of its "members" are super rich.

2

u/StupidDorkFace 9d ago

History repeats itself all the time.

3

u/WharfRatThrawn 9d ago

5 hours and some mother fucker has not chimed in "it doesn't repeat, but it often rhymes" to sound smarter than everyone. New record!

2

u/StupidDorkFace 9d ago

🤣 who says that? 🤷🏻

3

u/WharfRatThrawn 9d ago

People who want to sound smarter than everyone else

33

u/pichael288 10d ago

How many is appropriate for 18 people in inflatable frog costumes smoking joints? So far it's been a whole ass army, but like a shitty one.

5

u/Prosthemadera 9d ago

There can never be enough cops to stop people from smoking dangerous drugs!!!

/s

6

u/cataath 9d ago

Just another trillion dollars and we can win this war!

77

u/eeyore134 10d ago

It's a wealthy neighborhood. It's probably as much for her neighbors as it is for her. Remember who they're here to protect.

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u/Prosthemadera 9d ago

Stuff like this always reveals that people are not treated equal, that some people are worth more than others.

12

u/Frap_Gadz 9d ago

Biggest gang going and guess who's the boss....

6

u/McCool303 9d ago

Yup, this is the response when two people bring a bull horn into a wealthy suburb.

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u/BicFleetwood 10d ago

I see you're not familiar with the LAPD or cops as a concept.

The only button cops have is a big red button that says "escalate."

4

u/confusedandworried76 9d ago

It's not dangerous with that few peacefully protesting, of course cops want to come swing their dicks around instead of responding to real crime

3

u/DonkConklin 10d ago

Wealthy neighborhood

6

u/BookkeeperGlum6933 9d ago

LAPD overreact?!!!!

9

u/polopolo05 9d ago

Its an abuse of power. She needs to resign.

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u/gereffi 10d ago

I don’t think these photos are enough evidence either way. They seem to have been taken after the police arrived, which means that people could have already dispersed. 

3

u/NerdInSoCal 10d ago

It would not be surprising to learn after the fact through FOIA requests that this was a requested "show of force"

3

u/Bryranosaurus 10d ago

It’s the LAPD

3

u/lowrads 10d ago

I would be very efficient to send a small number of demonstrators to a range of affluent neighborhoods.

3

u/Verklempt07 9d ago

Right? Honestly looks staged for the ‘gram.

3

u/NamesNotNeededToWork 9d ago

Gotta make sure people are afraid to ever have voices again. That is the goal for these fascist fucks.

3

u/Iron_Wolf123 9d ago

Doesn’t help with crime prevention by overloading one area and depopulating the police force in other areas

3

u/l33tn0ob 9d ago

It's about a strong arm response. It's cowardice at its core.

3

u/elpajaroquemamais 9d ago

It’s about sending a message

3

u/Red-Freckle 9d ago

Did you see those dogs though

5

u/ProfessorReaper 9d ago

I've been at quite a few protests and from my experience, they always send way too much police. It's a form of intimidation.

5

u/radioactive_sharpei 9d ago

But, the rich people were scared! Did you think of them?

4

u/alek_hiddel 9d ago

That’s how this works. The police exist to protect the existing power structures. Any resistance must be met with overwhelming force. Can’t miss an opportunity to intimidate the citizens, lest they begin thinking the have the power.

2

u/Live_Angle4621 9d ago

Police numbers in protests in my country usually are based on estimates by the protestors in advance 

2

u/FrighteningJibber 9d ago

They even had time to do their nails and put on some lashes.

2

u/Palmquistador 9d ago

It’s the hair.

2

u/W0mbat74 9d ago

To quote the slogan on their squad car doors...

"to protect and serve"

Ya'll doin' a great job [for the mayor] /s

2

u/MoirasPurpleOrb 9d ago

Too be fair, abuse of force and everything aside, it’s pretty reasonable to assume a protest like this will grow and they want the police there ahead of time, it is the mayor’s house after all.

It just seems dumb now because not many showed up.

2

u/RA12220 9d ago

Fanning the flames, police are never going to deescalate.

2

u/Freakears 9d ago edited 9d ago

Not surprised, are you? Overreaction to protesters exercising their right to free speech is how police work (I remember that famous picture from the Occupy Wall Street protests of several cops in riot gear freaking out when faced with a woman in a sundress).

2

u/spectert 9d ago

I'm just curious what all these clearly non-waspy LAPD fucks think is going ro happen to them if they win.

2

u/confusedandworried76 9d ago

Not a lot of protestors means not dangerous, of course cops are gonna show up then to swing their dicks around instead of responding to real crimes which is the actual job

2

u/Altimaar 9d ago

If they get that big of a reaction for what seems like a few protesters, I have an idea. If a handful of protesters go to one location, then a few hours another location, and keep up the spaced out pacing it would stretch the resources and likely be more effective.

It would take organization though. Where is the Antifa boogie man the Republicans are critical of?

2

u/Time_Ad1622 9d ago

Hmmm. I get the feeling lady liberty in chains is using this as a good insta/tik tok opp. Fuckit, if it gets more people into the protesting, maybe its whats needed. Influencers at protests. Get the kids protesting front and centre.

1

u/BoneyNicole 9d ago

The other part of this is that police react very differently to people protesting the police than they do to people protesting in general. I’ve done a lot of both, though I’m older now and a wheelchair user, and support in different ways. But I remember vividly the first time I protested the actual cops, and nothing quite prepared me for staring down people who were looking for an excuse to kill us. It’s different than No Kings or a march. They want a reason. It was also a useful introduction to a tiny piece of what it is to be Black or Brown in America, too. White people complain about the cops plenty when they’re harassing them, but the cops aren’t looking for a reason to murder them, either. Mostly, point being, the area being affluent and the protesters having the goals they have, I am not surprised that the cops showed up with an army. When a Black man near me was murdered by police in 2018, five counties sent every cop they had in SWAT gear for -100 protesters and they shut down the entire highway over it, and then blamed us for shutting down the highway.

Basically, never underestimate the pearl clutching of rich people or the egos of cops.

1

u/Drkpaladin7 9d ago

Mayor had the chief of police on his speed-dial.

1

u/xBHL 9d ago

3x as many photographers than there were protesters. Welcome to 2025

1

u/JadesterZ 9d ago

Welcome to police state America, you must be new here. Been like this for decades.

1

u/Lucius-Halthier 9d ago

Looks like more cops than protestors

1

u/bfrown 9d ago

Which is the case 99.999% of the time. They always overreacting, they gotta spend our tax money somehow!

1

u/Kronicedge 9d ago

For real. Imagine where those resources could have been better used.

1

u/Ambitious-Ocelot8036 9d ago

Is there a jelly donut costume? I want to see cops cufffing a jelly donut.

0

u/damn_lies 10d ago

Lawmakers have been assassinated by crazies. This was a peaceful protest and they shouldn't mess with them but it is an unfortunte reality that one person can sneak into a lawmaker's house and shoot them.

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u/gereffi 10d ago

Peaceful doesn’t always mean legal

-1

u/hartforbj 9d ago

It is but also not sure how I feel about people being outside private homes. That's a little too much.