#Anarchists who exploited the protests, deepening NYC’s wounds, must pay

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NYPD counterterrorism chief John Miller this week outlined evidence that anarchist types planned mayhem here in the city before the George Floyd protests.
Paul Martinka

When the city is past this crisis, we hope that peaceful protesters will join the general public in cheering the criminal prosecution of the conspirators who sought to turn anger over the killing of George Floyd into some kind of revolution.

NYPD counterterrorism chief John Miller this week outlined evidence that anarchist types planned mayhem here in the city even before the first protests got off the ground. Shortly after Floyd died at the hands of a Minneapolis cop, Miller reports, “organizers of certain anarchist groups set out to raise bail money” and “recruit medics and medical teams with gear to deploy in anticipation of violent interactions with police.”

More, he says, they used encrypted communications to plan vandalism and violence against police, including organizing supply routes and bicycle scouts to get ahead of demonstrators so they could set fire to police vehicles and throw Molotov cocktails.

It’s no coincidence that one in seven of those arrested in the first days of violence was from out of state. Sadly, locals are part of it too — including the lawyers caught allegedly tossing a Molotov cocktail at a police vehicle.

Even when they don’t act, these radicals’ presence forces police to be ready for the worst — obliging the NYPD to show up in more force than a purely peaceful crowd would require, because once violence breaks out it can be too late to call for backup.

Heck, it’s likely what prompted Gov. Andrew Cuo­mo and Mayor Bill de Blasio to go for the curfew — which many protesters mistakenly saw as directed at them, adding to their outrage.

The radicals have inflicted huge costs on the city, in physical damage and in added civic strife. Let’s hope they face justice.