To keep some of the protests from potentially turning into violent riots this past week in Washington, D.C., law enforcement officers resorted to using tear gas and pepper spray as crowd deterrents. But according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), this represents a "grossly unjustified use of a chemical weapon on protesters."
In a tweet, the ACLU chastised police officers who have been trying to protect the White House from angry mobs, claiming that what they are doing "raises serious human rights concerns under international law." The group added that Congress "must investigate this politically-motivated, life-threatening use of indiscriminate weapons."
The claim is that "peaceful protesters" were needlessly tear-gassed outside the White House gates as President Trump was delivering an address in the Rose Garden. These protesters were supposedly not doing anything wrong as to threaten the president's safety, and yet were targeted with "weapons of war."
A reporter by the name of Yamiche Alcindor claims she was tear-gassed along with many others in the crowd that day, and insists it was unwarranted. She also called into question Trump's claim that he is an "ally of all peaceful protesters" based on how police handled the situation.
But the use of tear gas is not unheard of, despite being classified as a chemical weapon. It is commonly used by law enforcement all around the world to keep crowds under control and to prevent chaos and potential violence from escalating into a tragedy, much like what happened in St. Louis this past week when four police officers were slaughtered by "protesters."
"Tear gas is a chemical weapon used all over the world by law enforcement to control riots and disperse crowds – from the United States to Hong Kong, to Venezuela," reads a 2019 report published by The World, a news outlet partially produced by BBC.
So protecting the White House from potential violence is now a war crime?
The fact that Trump is so hated by the left to the point that protesters had previously tried to overturn barriers and charge the White House fence suggests that the use of tear gas to disperse a crowd while he was actually outside speaking is not necessarily as outrageous as the ACLU is making it out to be.
We know that the left desperately wants to unseat Trump and replace him with the puppet of their choice. And we know that they are willing to use any crisis they can exploit, whether it be a pandemic or the death of a black man, to accomplish this goal.
With that in mind, it probably makes sense to keep large mobs as far away from the White House as possible, especially when the president is there speaking out in the open. And tear gas, as scary as it might sound to some, is a temporary form of punishment that "has no long-term effects when used properly."
"When deployed in open spaces, the effects of tear gas are indeed temporary," this same The World article explains, differentiating the outdoor use of it for crowd control from the indoor use of it as a chemical weapon of war.
"Victims may experience crying, uncontrollable blinking, burning in the throat, sneezing, coughing, retching, and sometimes temporary blindness – but all that should subside within hours," the article goes on to state.
The ACLU should know all of this, especially since tear is used all the time by law enforcement, both here and abroad. It has only now become an issue because of its use while Trump is president, which points to the ACLU once again politicizing an issue for maximum chaotic effect.
To keep up with the latest news about the rioting and looting taking place in response to the death of George Floyd, be sure to check out CivilWar.news.
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