Rioting

After April 4: The 1968 Rebellions and the Unfinished Work of Civil Rights in DC

by Kyla Sommers

As Congressional controversy over DC's criminal law reforms shows, there remains significant unfinished business in the longstanding quest of DC residents to govern their city on their own terms. 

January 6, 2021: A Day of Populist Transgression

by Robert A. Schneider

The Capitol riot included a small core of actors bent on destruction, with many more along for the ride reveling in a moment of transgression. In this way, it was a microcosm of the Trumpian movement that, now unleashed, will be difficult to contain.

Trump’s Supporters Think They’re Being Patriotic. And That’s The Problem

by Christine Adams

The September Massacres of 1792 finished the overthrow of the French monarchy and paved the way to the Reign of Terror; the significance of conspiracy theory, rumor, and identification of enemies of the people were echoed in Wednesday's Capitol riots (though with, as yet, less bloodshed). 

What Pro-Trump Insurrectionists Share — and Don’t — With the American Revolution

by Jordan E. Taylor

Wednesday's Capitol rioters believe they carry on the legacy of the revolution, but it's not in the way they think. The Declaration of Independence reflects the prevalence of conspiracy theories and fake news among the colonial rebels. 

How Segregationists Rushed Through The 1968 Rioting Laws DOJ Is Using In 2020

The Anti-Rioting Act was conceived as a way to suppress civil rights protests in the 1960s and today may be invoked to charge participants in protests with serious federal crimes.  

What Kind of Society Values Property Over Black Lives?

by Robin D.G. Kelley

"Let me offer a more productive question instead: What is the effect of obsessing over looting?"

Rioting: An American Tradition

by Heather Cox Richardson

Looking at the rioters in Baltimore, or any other place, in isolation misses the point. If Americans have one grand political tradition, it is rioting.