F.I.R.E.’S ROBERT SHIBLEY ON CHARLOTTESVILLE: Police must act fast to protect First Amendment rights: The deliberate decision by local and campus leaders to let violence start serves the interests of those who would squelch debate. “State, local, and even college campus leadership appear to be telling police to stand by while some degree of unlawful violence takes place right before their eyes. Yet when that violence predictably spirals out of control, the authorities profess their inability to have done anything to stop it. Meanwhile, those inclined to violence are emboldened, secure in the knowledge that the publicity payoff is high and the odds of punishment low.”

I think it’s quite possible that they wanted violence, and to squelch debate. Certainly that’s consistent with their actions. I hope the DOJ investigation will take a very close look at what orders were given when, by whom, and why. A Black Lives Matter protester quoted in the piece: “It’s almost as if they wanted us to fight each other.”