On August 23, 2020, Kenosha police responded to a 911 call from the mother of Jacob Blake’s children. She reported a domestic incident, said Blake was not supposed to be at the residence, and that he had taken the keys to a vehicle she had rented. Dispatch flagged a “wanted” alert. Blake had an active arrest warrant from a May 2020 incident involving the same woman, in which she reported he had entered her home without permission, sexually assaulted her, and taken her vehicle and debit card.
He was charged with third-degree sexual assault, trespassing, and disorderly conduct. During the August confrontation, Blake resisted officers, was tased without effect, and was armed with a knife, which he admitted possessing after it was recovered from the vehicle. Officers reported he turned toward them with the knife while moving toward an SUV containing children. He was shot. The district attorney later determined the force was justified.
None of that complexity slowed the rush to judgment. The left and its media allies immediately portrayed Blake as a victim of racial murder. Riots followed, buildings burned, businesses were destroyed, and parts of Kenosha still carry the scars to this day. CNN described the Kenosha riots as “Fiery, but mostly peaceful” on the chyron during their live coverage. NBC News rebranded those events as a “civil rights rally” in recent coverage. Orwellian gaslighting of the highest order.
The majority of the destruction occurred in small businesses and private residences, many of them minority and immigrant owned. In total, more than 100 buildings were damaged, leaving at least 40 businesses completely destroyed and resulting in $50 million in damages.
