I don’t think the guy using powers usually reserves for wartime by declaring a national emergency to impose tariffs on penguins is too fussed if something is “tentatively legal”.
Tbh it’s a cause for celebration that it’s that debatable.
2 Likes
They’re straight up aiming batton rounds at reporters now, too.
Yeah I saw that, was 100% deliberate
Not seen.
Did they bounce it off the ground en route? We used to get taught to do that with the FRG. It was supposed to increase effect, but I can only speculate as to why.
Thought it was to reduce the risk of a fatality from a direct strike (especially to the head) by making the round tumble?
Oh really? There’s me thinking it was to damage the round or pick up debris. Age must be making me cynical.
Not sure what they use, but a modern AEP s designed for a straight shot and is no more dangerous than being struck with a Baton.
We should use them in far more circumstances but don’r due to politics.
2 Likes
It’s different when it’s Trump though…
British photographer injured by ‘plastic bullet’ in LA protests British photographer injured by 'plastic bullet' during LA protests
Stern says he has been “hit by rubber bullets before”, typically getting a bruise that remains sore for several days, - but this time “whatever it was that hit me actually perforated the skin,” and left “about a 5 cm (2 in) hole in my leg”.
Stern says he had surgery yesterday and has an “open wound” and he now requires physical therapy to recover.
Bloody hell, he wasn’t even a protestor 
Are they using 5.56 mm ‘rubber bullets’ rather than 40 mm baton rounds?
Well, the State certainly doesn’t think the criteria was met!
1 Like
It gets better
We’re going to be back in Battle of Los Angeles territory soon. Maybe we’ll get a new Rage Against The Machine album?
Christ.
BBC still not confirmed that, but if true, utterly insane.
Deploying serving soldiers against your own civilian population is mad. Especially when there isn’t exactly that much going on. The protest have been relatively minor.
This isn’t mass unrest, not even close to it.
I think such moves are deliberately designed to cause mass unrest, because then the suspension of civil rights and use of emergency powers are much easier to justify.
“Look at these domestic terrorists preventing our brave migration enforcement officers from keeping hard-working American families safe from foreign criminals. We need to suppress these people so the patriots can send their cherished sons & daughters to school without the threat of becoming a victim to illegal aliens. That’s why we’re introducing the ‘Keep Americans Safe Act’ today, enabling greater police powers to monitor these illegals and forcibly remove these criminals from our streets, using our brave troops to support hard-working front-line police officers. Be a patriot, support keeping America safe!”
4 Likes
Sadly, this appears to be the way. Instead of reacting to mass unrest with a heavy hand, they are using a heavy hand to cause unrest.
It’s straight from the dictator’s playbook - it becomes quite a simple process to then say, for example, that the governor (who happens to be a Democrat) has allowed this chaos to unfurl unchecked on their streets and therefore their powers need to be “temporarily” removed and handled by the federal administration instead.
And the truth is that it will be very much welcomed by Trump supporters as a sign that he’s taking his campaign promises seriously - they likely won’t realise what it means for wider civil liberties.