Despite repressive curfews and police brutality, chants of “No Justice, No Peace” ring around the country.

This weekend’s images of police brutality and militarized police across the nation solidified America’s status as a full-blown police state. The list of video footage and images of police officers instigating citizens and indiscriminately deploying violence to quell protests and uprisings is nearly endless if you turn on the TV or look at social media.

The unrest began in Minneapolis after one officer kneeled on George Floyd’s neck and murdered him while 3 fellow police officers looked on.

Police across the country have used rubber bullets, pepper spray, flashbangs, and other violent tactics in an attempt to bludgeon the demonstrations against police brutality. Police action has cost both protestors’ and news media workers’ eyes from rubber bullets, hospital trips, and countless untold injuries.

To add to the police presence at least 5,000 National Guard troops were deployed in now 21 different states and the District of Colombia.

Despite all the militarized force, Americans in nearly all major and medium-sized cities demonstrated, calling for racial justice and an end to police brutality. In vain, cities across the country imposed curfews to restrict protestors’ ability to demonstrate during the night.

Deploying Coronavirus Rhetoric

The current coronavirus pandemic has barely begun to tail off, but officials gave already begun using rhetoric built in the response to coronavirus to track protestors and demonstrators.

In Minneapolis where it all began, officials announced they have begun ‘contact tracing’ protestors and demonstrators they have arrested.

Speaking vaguely about the contact tracing strategy, Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said, “we are in the process right now of building that information network.”

Harrington and other Minnesota politicians were quick to blame outsiders and criminal networks for being behind much of the looting and rioting.

On Saturday St Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said, “every single person we arrested last night, I’m told, was from out of state.”

Additionally, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz estimated that 80% of those arrested came from outside of the state.

However, officials had to backtrack including Carter who said he was given “inaccurate information… during a police briefing.”

Blaming Outsider and Foreign Influence

Rather than place the blame directly at police, politicians and many political commentators, both liberal and conservative, have pushed the idea that outside agitators and even foreign influence have turned the protests violent.

In a viral tweet, MSNBC host Joy Reid repeated words from Minnesota mayors, governor and attorney general, and said, “all alleging outside forces, domestic and possibly foreign, have post-Tuesday infiltrated the state.”

Governor Walz even alleged drug cartels were getting in on the action, without providing any evidence to back such a claim.

The outside agitator message coincided with President Donald Trump designating Antifa, a loosely-defined group without a single death to their name, a terrorist organization.

President Obama’s former National Security Adviser appeared on CNN and said, “we have extremists who have come to try to hijack those protests and turn them into something very different… based on my experience this is right out of the Russian playbook.”

To what Rice is exactly referring to is completely unknown, and the former National Security Adviser provided no evidence for her claim.

National security journalists and security officials have gone hard in pushing the foreign influence element. According to Jeff Seldin of Voice of America, a government propaganda multimedia agency, Russia, China, and Iran are all ‘seizing upon’ George Floyd and the ensuing protests.

National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien mentioned social media posts from China, Zimbabwe, and Iran taking pleasure in the events unfolding in America. O’Brien also appeared on CNN and said, “I don’t think there’s systemic racism,” in America’s police force.

Much of the American political establishment is quick to blame anything but its own internal failures to distract from the reality of a country with mounting civil insurrection.