Louisville U-Haul Videos Go Viral, Conservatives Suggest Organized Rioting
Louisville #Louisville
Videos appearing to show shields, water and banners being handed out to Louisville protesters from the back of a rented U-Haul truck have gone viral, with prominent conservative figures saying that the clips are evidence of organized rioting.
One clip posted by Daily Caller reporter Shelby Talcott to Twitter, which has notched up 4.9 million views, was recorded on Wednesday night ahead of violent clashes which saw two police officers shot.
The footage appears to show a man unloading the rented van near the protest’s frontline and passing supplies to protesters who were demonstrating after the criminal indictment of a police officer involved in the March 13 shooting death of Breonna Taylor, a Black 26-year-old medic in Louisville.
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In the clip, a woman can be heard repeatedly shouting: “We’ve got shields! We’ve got shields” prompting those nearby to run over and grab provisions.
One man picks up a sign which reads Abolish The Police and he shouts: “Somebody with me on this!”
He is then joined by another man who helps carry the huge sign while two others grab another banner which reads Abolition Now.
The clip also features Black Lives Matter Banners and another featuring three arrows which is associated with Antifa.
Protesters were later seen brandishing the signs bearing the same slogans as they formed a front line.
Another video uploaded by Brendan Gutenschwager appears to show the same van from a different angle. The clip has been viewed over 400,000 times.
The videos have sparked some to speculate that rather than a group of ad-hoc supporters looking to demonstrate, the subsequent riots that took place in Louisville were organized.
Charlie Kirk, founder and president of Turning Point USA, took to Twitter saying the protests were organized and called for a top-level investigation.
He wrote: “This is clearly organized and financed domestic terrorism. Who is behind this? Where is the FBI? Arrest them all!”
While Tucker Carlson, host of Tucker Carlson Tonight, spoke out on Fox News criticizing the billionaires he said had “stocked the U-Haul with riot supplies”.
In his opening monologue Carlson questioned who was responsible for the U-Haul truck. “The obvious question is, who’s paying for all this? Who’s organizing it? It is organized and it is expensive. And someone is doing that,” he said.
And TV’s Laura Ingraham also questioned who had paid for the U-Haul.
However, the trio received a backlash on Twitter from some for suggesting that to rent a van someone had to be mega-rich.
One Twitter user with the handle @WarriorLibESQ posted a picture of a U-Haul featuring an advert offering it for hire at $19.95 and said: “They must have cashed in all of their car ashtray coins!”
And someone using the moniker @RealSwoletariat hit back by responding: “How could these people have scraped together $50?”
While another man called Brian using the Twitter handle @grizzrhys, said: “I did Laura. I did a lemonade stand to raise money for antifa to rent the uhaul.”
Violent protests in Louisville as two officers shot
Two Louisville officers were shot and wounded during the widespread demonstrations in the aftermath of the Breonna Taylor verdict.
According to the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) one officer was hit in the abdomen, below their bulletproof vest, and is in surgery. The second officer was hit in the thigh. The LMPD has said neither injury was life-threatening and both officers are expected to survive. Police have also arrested an unnamed suspect who is currently in custody.
It’s unclear if either officer was shot amid the protests themselves or whether they were attacked away from protest groups.
Mass arrests of protesters have also occurred throughout the evening, following a largely peaceful protest event near the city’s main courthouse.
The mayor has since put a county-wide curfew into effect for the next 72 hours from 9 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. local time, according to the LMPD. Smaller instances of civil unrest and mass arrests of protesters have occurred throughout the evening as well.
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