Before you go out and get yourself arrested for the cause, whatever that may be, remember this. No, not don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time. That assumes a level of knowledge that most “looters and Vandals” lack. You need to know the time before you do the crime or you get life in prison.
Related: Police Associations in US Cities Form SuperPAC to Oppose “Defund Politicians”
That’s the message in Utah where Black Lives Matters protesters, “Madalena Rose McNeil, 28; Marvin Oliveros, 39; and Richard Lovell Davis, 31, were charged Tuesday with felony criminal mischief and rioting, which is a third-degree felony, according to officials, as reported by KSL.”
“There’s some people who want to engage in protest, but they want to be absolved of any behavior,” Gill, a Democrat, told AP. “This is not about protest, this is about people who are engaging in criminal conduct.”
More than 30 people have been charged with various crimes in Salt Lake County amid a U.S.-wide wave of protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Press Release: Recap of SLCPD actions during yesterday’s protesthttps://t.co/7Idzou0euy pic.twitter.com/9y2lhuWKGP
— Salt Lake City Police (@slcpd) July 10, 2020
Before you go out and join in the looting, rioting, and destruction of public property, you may want to understand what that might mean for the rest of your life.
No one is expected to do life, but the point is that they could, and that’s the message. There is free speech and free expression, but when that devolves into damaging property, that’s not protected speech.
If you can’t embrace the distinction, be prepared to be embraced by the judicial system.
