Let’s keep Tuesday’s ‘defund the police’ rally in Boise peaceful and violence-free

If you’re planning to incite violence at a peaceful Black Lives Matter “defund the police” rally on Tuesday in Boise, stay home.

The last time there was a similar rally in Boise, tensions ran high and spates of violence broke out. Fortunately, it involved only minor skirmishes and not widespread violence. But it was scary enough as it was, and easily could have devolved into something worse.

With tensions rising over the past couple of weeks, we hope Boise can avoid a violent episode that makes the national news.

Already, we’ve seen groups promising to show up to counterprotest — a term that sounds benign but has come to mean provoking, intimidating and attacking.

It almost seems unfair to put the impetus on police to keep the peace at a “defund the police” rally — especially in Boise, where the relationship between law enforcement and the community seems healthy. After all, the police actions that have prompted widespread BLM rallies happened elsewhere, not here.

But that’s exactly what has to happen.

New Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee spoke with the Idaho Statesman editorial board about the upcoming rally and plans to make sure we avoid a repeat of the last rally — or even more violence.

“Whenever we see an event where other people, for whatever reason — maybe it’s they’re overcome by emotion in the moment or to more deliberate action — whenever there’s violence towards somebody else who’s exercising that right (to protest), it’s wholly inappropriate. We can’t allow that to happen,” Lee said.

He said the Boise Police Department is planning a “much more substantial and robust response” at Tuesday’s rally, which is welcome news. He also made it clear that his department is “content neutral.”

“Police officers take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in that is your right to exercise your First Amendment,” Lee said. “As the police, we need to protect that exercise of your civil rights, regardless of what the content is. … I think we also have to recognize that people have the right to say a narrative counter to the narrative that somebody else is saying.”

Certainly, one of the hallmarks of our democracy is freedom of speech. Any attempt to quell that speech through shouting down, bullying, threatening or outright violence is simply unAmerican.

The Black Lives Matter rallies and vigils in Boise have been nothing but peaceful and non-violent, disrupted only by groups and individuals showing up to disrupt, disrespect and intimidate. A vigil in early June in honor of black Americans lost at the hands of police and fellow citizens was marred by instigators waving American flags from the beds of their pickup trucks as they circled the vigil, revving their engines during moments of silence. At a June 30 “defund the police” rally, groups and individuals showed up shouting epithets and white power, even “heil Hitler,” donned with tattoos and patches displaying SS Bolts, which are a common white supremacist/neo-Nazi symbol.

We find it ironic that counterprotesters at the last rally chanted “U-S-A” repeatedly and loudly to drown out speakers at the rally, as an act intended to quell free speech and discourse. That is the very antithesis of our American values.

If you want to win the debate of ideas, you have to debate. That doesn’t mean screaming and chanting over the other side so they can’t be heard. It doesn’t mean getting physical. Try listening first. It’s a good bet counterprotesters don’t have an understanding of what “defund the police” even means in this context.

The irony is inescapable, as well, that so-called liberty-minded counterprotesters who avow themselves to opposition to government oppression and tyranny would call for more police action and presence against a group that is calling for help in its fight against oppression.

We’re also seeing the issue framed around the Eagle police officer who was shot and wounded last week in pursuit of a burglary suspect, with the argument being made that if you support efforts to defund the police, you are against the officer who got shot. Which no one is, of course.

This kind of false dichotomy is misguided and divisive. It’s also symptomatic of an inability to listen to one another. Given the context of the rallies, it’s also dangerous, as no doubt some people will show up at Tuesday’s rally spun up by anger, with the sole intention of menacing and causing trouble. Many likely will show up armed as well, a completely unnecessary move. The police they are supposedly supporting can take care of themselves. Boise police do not need a boost from random people carrying assault weapons.

Lee and his team are reaching out to organizers on both sides to ensure that anyone wishing to exercise their right to protest can do so in a safe and appropriate manner, Lee said.

However, they’re “also aware that there are individuals that may be attaching themselves to their lawful cause that have less noble intentions, and we’re asking them to self-police and self-excise folks like that so that we’re able to address them if necessary.

“And then we’re also dedicating the resources so we can quickly use police intervention techniques to address any outbreaks of violence or potential outbreaks of violence if they occur.”

No one wants it to come to that.

This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 4:00 AM.