Blue Cities Reward BLM Rioters With Lawsuit Settlements

Written by Hudson Crozier

What’s happening: The city of Denver agreed to pay $4.7 million to hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters to settle a 2020 lawsuit. The activists claimed that police violated their constitutional rights by arresting them to enforce a curfew and using excessive force. The settlement awaits a judge’s approval.

• Why it's happening: The city denies that it targeted the protesters unfairly but said fighting the case would be “burdensome and expensive.”

Why it matters: Several liberal cities have reached similar settlements stemming from the riots, totaling around $100 million nationwide. Protesters are usually winning not on the merits of their cases but because city officials choose the easy way out, rewarding the lawlessness that occurred in 2020 with taxpayer dollars and legal legitimacy.

• It’s a business: Left-wing activists often show up to demonstrations with lawyers waiting to catch alleged police misconduct while their clients participate in riots.

What went down in Denver: Rioters blocked traffic, threw bricks and explosives at police officers and drove a car into them, fired gunshots, vandalized property, and looted businesses. The chaos caused over 80 officer injuries and millions of dollars in property damage. Police enforced the curfew as a crowd control tactic, and that was enough to earn protesters a payout from suing, even though the curfew charges were dropped.

• Zoom out: Other liberal cities and counties dropped most charges against BLM rioters, many of which were for violence or theft.