While Americans were pleased to avoid another round of riots over Floyd’s death, it’s obvious that riots or the threat of them, are now a ‘normal’ response.

On April 21, America held its collective breath. When the news broke that the jury in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin had arrived at a verdict, the fate of the nation’s cities was hanging in the balance. As the boarded-up storefronts in urban areas and suburbs from coast to coast showed, there was little doubt that if a Minneapolis jury didn’t produce the verdicts many people wanted, riots would ensue.

When Judge Peter Cahill read the verdicts, the nation heaved a sigh of relief. The conviction on all three counts against the former Minneapolis police officer — second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree murder — for the death of George Floyd, means Chauvin faces up to 40 years in prison. But more was at stake in the trial than just his future.

The demonstrations they orchestrated in response to the case transformed Floyd into a martyr for civil rights. Millions attended demonstrations in the weeks and months that followed. Hundreds of these “mostly peaceful” protests around the country turned into riots in which neighborhoods were burned. Stores were looted, resulting in casualties and deaths involving law enforcement personnel and civilians.

Democrats Keep the Anger Churning

Worries about more riots should Chauvin be acquitted were not theoretical. Threats from activists and politicians demanding a conviction had created an atmosphere in which anything less than a guilty verdict would have been used as an excuse for more rioting.

President Joe Biden said he was praying for “the right verdict.” Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., told demonstrators to “get more confrontational” with police if the Chauvin jurors didn’t give them what they demanded. Not long after, some protesters committed a drive-by shooting of National Guardsmen in the area to protect against riots. Indeed, Waters was chided by Judge Cahill for having given the Chauvin defense possible grounds for appeal although he denied a motion for a mistrial.

Biden weighed in with rhetoric about the trial being a “reckoning” and a “wake-up call” for the nation. Vice President Kamala Harris also claimed what happened to Floyd, who died after being arrested for passing a counterfeit bill at a convenience store, epitomized the truth about widespread racial injustice in the United States.

Despite nonstop claims that the United States is an irredeemably racist society, the feeling that the system had worked to punish someone who had committed an egregious act produced happiness, not more anger. While those intent on keeping the anger churning, like former President Barack Obama and various BLM activists, sought to dispel any idea that the verdict should inspire confidence in American justice rather than serve as a reason for more protests, it was hard for even the most determined race-baiter to dispel the good feelings the verdict produced.

For those living in neighborhoods that were torched or looted last summer — like many in Minneapolis — there were expressions of relief about the threat of violence and unrest having been averted. But the fact that violence wasn’t the result this time, shouldn’t inspire confidence that last summer’s riots were a one-off that won’t be repeated.

The Chauvin verdict was not the first time in the last year riots had been forestalled, not by cooler heads prevailing, but because those who might have rioted had gotten what they wanted. That was true last November when the same storefronts were boarded up throughout the country in anticipation of violence had Donald Trump won the presidential election.

Riots Are the New Norm

We now know that any time the BLM movement can highlight a case that they think proves their point about racism, whether accurate or not, riots will follow. As the aftermath of the presidential race proved, the same may be true of the outcomes of elections.

In Minneapolis, the possibility of riots had hung over the trial from the beginning. Indeed, the agitation for Chauvin’s conviction — regardless of how heartrending the dismal spectacle that unfolded in the videotape of Floyd’s death might have been  — resembled the way Jim Crow racists intimidated juries into acquitting those accused of killing blacks.

Democrats are content to excuse or rationalize riots when they occur, as happened throughout last summer when the mainstream media tried to claim they were “mostly peaceful.” They are actively opposing efforts, like the law passed by Florida to increase the penalties for rioting while still preserving the right to peacefully protest.

Protests are a justified reaction to the way most of those who engaged in the BLM violence either weren’t charged or got off lightly after being bailed out by funds supported by Biden and Harris. The fact that the same people rationalizing BLM riots are still demonizing the pro-Trump mob that took part in the Capitol riot and demanding that they be convicted on serious charges think left-wing rioters should get a pass illustrates their hypocrisy and lack of principle.

While Americans were pleased to avoid another round of riots over Floyd’s death, it’s obvious that riots or the threat of them, are now a permanent feature of American life. Going forward, anytime an incident that can be framed, either fairly or not as racist, or a trial produces an unpopular verdict, or the left loses power, riots are likely.

Even if Chauvin deserved to be convicted, no one should be happy about the way the trial confirmed again that we are now living in a country where political violence is no longer considered beyond the pale.

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This article was published on April 22, 2021 and is reproduced with permission from The Federalist.