Drew Hernandez on riots in Wisconsin: This is strategic violence
Wisconsin businesses torched as riots break out following police shooting; reaction from Drew Hernandez, host of 'Lives Matter' on YouTube.
Rioters in Kenosha, Wis. descended on local businesses Sunday night, causing major damage, according to Drew Hernandez, who hosts the "Lives Matter" show on YouTube.
Hernandez explained to "Tucker Carlson Tonight" that he was in Chicago covering Black Lives Matter demonstrations there when he heard about the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha on Sunday afternoon.
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"The shooting took place and I caught wind of it on Twitter, and so I just kind of went with it," he recalled. "I paid for an Uber, went all the way up to Wisconsin and literally, right when I arrived, they already had garbage trucks in flames, some BLM [Black Lives Matter] militants and rioters were out with semiautomatic rifles 'policing the police.'
"And right after that, right after the police tear-gassed a lot of the rioters, because it was getting very violent, that's when the BLM -- BLM activists, this was all Black Lives Matter -- started to loot, started to vandalize, just rip local businesses to shreds," Hernandez said. "I don't know how much in monetary value of damage that they've caused ... but they tore up this local little town to pieces."
On Twitter, Hernandez posted footage in which chants of "Black Lives Matter" can be heard and people are destroying what appear to be storefronts.
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Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evans has deployed the state National Guard, which will assist law enforcement to "protect critical infrastructure and assist in maintaining public safety and the ability of individuals to peacefully protest," according to a statement.
BLM activists have offered mixed reactions to looting. A BLM group in southern Virginia recently condemned looting that took place in Hampton Roads.
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However, BLM activists from major cities have appeared to excuse or downplay the riots. Earlier this month, BLM held a rally in Chicago to support people arrested during looting there. One activist, Ariel Atkins, called looting a form of "reparations" and said she didn't care about looting if it ensured that someone had food or clothing.
“Anything they wanted to take, they can take it because these businesses have insurance," Atkins also said.
Fox News' Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
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