In certain cities such as Portland and Minneapolis, the surge in death and destruction is even starker, with homicides increasing by 733 percent in Portland and 82 percent in Minneapolis. In 2020, homicides in major American cities skyrocketed by 33 percent, a trend that continued into the first quarter of 2021. (4) The failure of cities to enforce the rule of law has severe consequences and costs lives. Federal and State buildings, businesses, and infrastructure were indiscriminately destroyed by arsonists, vandals, and looters-harming their owners and taxpayers-who ultimately bear the costs of unchecked anarchy in American cities. (3) By shirking their responsibility to carry out law and order, lawless jurisdictions enabled violent protestors and rioters to inflict well over $1 billion in property damage across the United States.
As a result of these State and local government policies, acts of violence and destruction have skyrocketed and continue unabated in many of America’s cities.
Over the past year, several State and local governments have contributed to the violence and destruction in their jurisdictions by failing to enforce the law, disempowering and significantly defunding their police departments, and refusing to accept offers of Federal law enforcement assistance amidst widespread, sustained violence. (2) Unfortunately, lawlessness has beset some of our States and cities. Without law and order, democracy cannot function, Americans cannot exercise their rights to peaceful expression, assembly, and protest, property is destroyed, and innocent citizens are injured or killed. (1) It is the policy and purpose of the United States Government to protect the lives and property of all people in the United States from unlawful acts of violence and destruction.
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