Sometimes The Old Ways Are The Best Ways

From Second Hand Lions (Source)

Disclaimer: I'm not your attorney and this is not legal advice.

      As was inevitable, the protesters have begun to turn on the rich. I had noted recently that some protesters had the temerity to take their protests into Beverly Hills were they were met with the first instance I could find of a Long Range Acoustical Device (LRAD) being used in this 2020 protest season. A couple days ago, protesters again returned to Beverly Hills, this time shouting "Eat the rich!" Again, police quickly dispersed the crowds. The elites are quite fine with protesters destroying others' neighborhoods, but not their own. I don't expect a single Hollywood star or starlet to call for defunding the Beverly Hills police.

     But where the police are simply unavailable or don't care, your only protection against protesters might be you and your firearms. Unfortunately, there seems to be a large number of people that too easily step out of the box of self-defense, and don't seem to understand that this is, for now, a media war. Video recordings and doxxing are the primary weapon of choice.

     And that brings me to this story from the Daily Mail, "'Keep moving!' Moment lawyer couple brandish an AR-15 and a handgun at protesters marching past their mansion in an upscale St. Louis neighborhood." (See also this article). Although the Daily Mail is well-known for using hyperbole in its headlines, I'm not sure that they are wrong.

     As I gather from this and other accounts, protesters somehow got through the gate to a gated subdivision in order to march to Mayor Lyda Krewson's home to demand her resignation for doxxing people that supported defunding police. A couple living on the street took exception to the protesters forcing their way into the neighborhood. Video and photographs show the couple standing outside their home, the husband with an AR rifle and the wife with a handgun. Although I don't see any photographs or video of the husband pointing his rifle at protesters (he had it at a lazy port arms or ready position from what I saw), the wife appeared to be more agitated and, although not aiming at anyone, was muzzling people in the crowd with her pistol with her finger on the trigger. Both the husband and wife also said things to some of the protesters, although I couldn't make anything out on the video and the article didn't report what was said. True to their hypocritical roots, the protesters later doxxed the couple.

     The optics look bad, especially since the couple (the wife especially) had poor muzzle and trigger discipline. But what should they have done? The police were doing nothing to stop the mob, but neither were the protesters attempting to attack the couple or their home. If you feel the need to go outside to make sure no mischief is being done, there is always the old practice--really a stereotype now--of the peaceable homeowner on his porch sitting in a chair with a rifle or shotgun casually resting across his legs or propped up nearby. (Be sure to check your local laws on openly carrying a firearm outside your home and what your rights are if someone enters your curtilage with the intent to commit a crime, whether you have a duty to retreat, etc.). Don't engage with or say anything to the protesters--it's a waste of breath and could give the appearance that you were initiating a confrontation. Just sitting there, prepared, still conveys the message of "don't mess with me" without brandishing or appearing aggressive. And, if the situation changes, you are there and ready to respond with a verbal warning or, if necessary, employing your weapon.

Update: Tom Gara reporting that "Police investigating the St Louis incident are considering it a case of 'fourth-degree assault by intimidation' — by the protesters." Also has photos of the gate that the mob broke down to access the neighborhood. As this article makes clear, while the police investigation has taken the position that the protesters were trespassing and assaulted the couple, the local prosecutor, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner, had released a statement condemning the couple for assaulting the peaceful protesters. Wikipedia has this to say about Gardner: "Gardner took office on January 6, 2017. She is the first African-American to head the Circuit Attorney's Office (CAO). Under Gardner's tenure, St. Louis has seen a significant increase in non-prosecuted felonies."