New AP Stylebook guidance recommends using 'unrest' instead of 'riot' to avoid stigmatizing protesters



The Associated Press Stylebook tweeted an admonishment to stop using the word "riot" to describe political protests and instead use the milder "unrest" to avoid stigmatizing protesters.

The guidance was tweeted on Tuesday amid numerous protests, riots and looting across the country.

"Use care in deciding which term best applies: A riot is a wild or violent disturbance of the peace involving a group of people. The term riot suggests uncontrolled chaos and pandemonium," the official AP Stylebook Twitter account said.

New guidance on AP Stylebook Online:Use care in deciding which term best applies:A riot is a wild or violent dis… https://t.co/JgoCLzat38
— APStylebook (@APStylebook)1601487064.0

"Focusing on rioting and property destruction rather than underlying grievance has been used in the past to stigmatize broad swaths of people protesting against lynching, police brutality or for racial justice, going back to the urban uprisings of the 1960s," the AP Stylebook explained.

Rioting and looting erupted in the wake of the death of George Floyd while in custody of Minneapolis police officers. Many on the left have bristled at headlines that focused on the destruction caused by the rioting instead of the stated purpose of the protests.

The Associated Press recommended using more mild terms when referring to property destruction from the rioting.

"Unrest is a vaguer, milder and less emotional term for a condition of angry discontent and protest verging on revolt," the AP continued.

"Protest and demonstration refer to specific actions such as marches, sit-ins, rallies or other actions meant to register dissent. They can be legal or illegal, organized or spontaneous, peaceful or violent, and involve any number of people," the AP said in a further tweet. "Revolt and uprising both suggest a broader political dimension or civil upheavals, a sustained period of protests or unrest against powerful groups or governing systems."

Revolt and uprising both suggest a broader political dimension or civil upheavals, a sustained period of protests o… https://t.co/Di1zFUXLnn
— APStylebook (@APStylebook)1601487065.0

The stylebook has been criticized in the past for seeming to bow to left-wing pressure to redefine words and phrases.

In May, critics on Twitter had a field day mocking the stylebook for banning the use of the word "mistress" as archaic and sexist. In 2013, the stylebook banned the use of the word "illegal immigrant" and recommended instead the use of the term "undocumented" when referring to illegal aliens.

Here's more about the rioting and looting in America:

Black-Owned Businesses Among Those Damaged By Vandals During Protestswww.youtube.com

Man drives through protest in a Prius, gets chased down by cars and attacked by protesters



There were protests in Los Angeles on Thursday night following the grand jury's decision not to indict police officers on homicide charges in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky. Hundreds of protesters demonstrated in the streets of the Hollywood neighborhood in California, where a wild car chase broke out after a driver attempted to drive through a crowd of people.

Videos on social media show a white Toyota Prius slowly turn down a street at around 9 p.m., despite the intersection being blocked by protesters.

"It wasn't traveling at a fast speed — it was inching forward, trying to get past, and that upset people," Christian Monterrosa, a freelance photojournalist who was covering the protest, told the Los Angeles Times.

Demonstrators punch and kick the car as it weaves through the crowd. After the car makes the turn, the protesters pursue the Prius.

A black pickup truck that was involved with the Breonna Taylor protest chased after the Prius. Video taken by KCAL-TV's helicopter shows the truck accelerating to get in front of the Prius and then stopping in the middle of the road to prevent the Prius from escaping.

The driver of the pickup gets out and attempts to remove the driver from the Prius. Meanwhile, a green Ford Mustang comes up from the rear to try to box in the Prius. The Prius slams into the Mustang.

People gather around the Prius and attempt to open the doors of the car. They attack the vehicle with metal rods, skateboards, and a pole for a "Black Lives Matter" flag, and one person throws a bicycle at the car's rear window.

The Prius then drives away, but it was detained by police a few blocks away.

MOMENTS AGO: Prius drives through a protest in Hollywood, protestors then chase the vehicle down, smash the windows… https://t.co/yYRv9XrLQ7
— Kenny Holmes (@Kenny Holmes)1601009734.0
WATCH: A person driving a white Prius was chased down and by protesters after trying to drive through the crowd in… https://t.co/Q6g71JnEkT
— Mike Rogers (@Mike Rogers)1601009267.0

The LAPD released a statement regarding the Prius incident as well as an earlier situation where a truck hit a protester, causing injury.

"A black pickup truck leading the protests accelerated and pinned that white Prius in, forcing it to come to a stop," the LAPD said in a statement. "The driver of the Prius attempted to flee the area and reversed into a green Mustang behind it. That vehicle was also participating in the protest."

"Both the drivers of the pick-up truck and the green Mustang attempted to extract the driver of the Prius from his vehicle," LAPD said. "However, that driver was able to get away from the scene."

The police said that there were no injuries from the Prius incident. LAPD added, "All of the drivers involved in both altercations have been identified by Hollywood Officers and the investigation is continuing."

A police official gave an update on the Prius situation to KNBC reporter Robert Kovacik.

"The white Prius, similarly, was attacked by several protesters who pried his door open and punched him several times while he was inside of his Prius," the officer said. "He stepped on the gas to try to escape from that attack and may or may not have struck one of the protesters, we have not located a victim yet of that crime if there was one."

The LAPD is are aware of an incident in Hollywood involving several vehicles and a large group of protestors. Here… https://t.co/nPBRokpxdk
— LAPD HQ (@LAPD HQ)1601015213.0
#Hollywood: No arrests, one protestor hospitalized with minor injuries, per @LAPDLurie, @LAPDHollywood. https://t.co/Ls2rirYgHw
— Robert Kovacik (@Robert Kovacik)1601014672.0

The Hollywood Police Department estimates that 350 participated in the protest. Capt. Steve Lurie, who leads the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood Division, said that 20 protesters were "violent."

On Friday morning, "Reginald Denny" was a trending topic on Twitter because of the incident. Commenters were making a correlation between the Prius chase and Reginald Denny, a construction truck driver who was yanked from his vehicle and nearly beaten to death after being smashed in the head with a cinder block during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

On Wednesday night, a car plowed through a crowd of people at a Breonna Taylor protest in Denver. The driver has been detained, according to the Denver Police Department.

Democratic Kentucky state lawmaker arrested during unrest in Louisville and charged with rioting



Police arrested numerous protesters at the unrest in Louisville, Kentucky, on the second night of unrest, and among those arrested was a Kentucky state lawmaker.

Rep. Attica Scott was arrested by police and charged with first-degree rioting, failure to disperse and unlawful assembly.

According to WHAS-TV, she was arrested near the First Unitarian Church where protesters were granted sanctuary from police action after the city-mandated curfew to quell rioting and property damage.

WHAS reported that Scott was arrested without incident. A journalist with WFPL News posted video of a woman being arrested and identifying herself as Scott:

Lmpd have arrested Rep. Attica Scott, author of Breonna's law https://t.co/Gla14x8Es6
— Ryan Van Velzer (@Ryan Van Velzer)1600998542.0

WFPL also reported that Scott's daughter Ashanti was arrested at the same time.

Scott is the only black woman serving in the Kentucky state legislature and is known for proposing "Breonna's Law," which would end the use of no-knock warrants throughout the state.

The law was named after Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by police during a raid in March. Police later said that they had announced themselves and knocked before entering Taylor's home. Protests and rioting erupted in the wake of the charges announced against one of the three officers in the raid.

Here's a local news report about the arrest of Scott:

Well-known Kentucky lawmaker among those arrested in Louisville protestswww.youtube.com

Louisville church offers safe haven to protesters from police after curfew begins; white people told to get 'the f*** out!'



A church in Louisville, Kentucky, opened its doors and offered safe haven to protesters who would otherwise be arrested after a police curfew began.

The First Unitarian Church of Louisville posted a photograph of protesters from the first night of the riots in the city, but social media posts showed that they were doing the same on Thursday, the second night of the protests.

In one expletive-ridden video reportedly from the church grounds, white people are being berated and exhorted to leave.

White people have just been threatened with assault and kicked out of the church sanctuary grounds. Almost all pres… https://t.co/guO6Ij3nKm
— Brendan Gutenschwager (@Brendan Gutenschwager)1600998209.0

"White people have just been threatened with assault and kicked out of the church sanctuary grounds. Almost all press were demanded to leave as well," said the Twitter user who posted the video.

Another video shows an interview with a member of the church who explains that the purpose of the sanctuary is to "provide a safe space of love and compassion in the service of justice."

Here's a member of the First Unitarian Church explaining the motivation for offering sanctuary to Louisville protes… https://t.co/vpHzpgZJYg
— Ryan Van Velzer (@Ryan Van Velzer)1601001633.0

Another video from outside the church shows a member explaining that protesters can find legal aid and refreshments as well.

A church leader explains the sanctuary status of these grounds for protesters at First Unitarian Church in Louisvil… https://t.co/mZ4baEBRC5
— Brendan Gutenschwager (@Brendan Gutenschwager)1600997699.0

Police were reportedly waiting at church exits in order to arrest protesters.

It looks like all exits away from the First Unitarian Church are blocked off by police in #Louisville #BreonnaTaylor https://t.co/rWg8hSwbY5
— Daniel Shular (@Daniel Shular)1601001496.0
#compassionatecity. #BreonnaTaylor #Louisville #BlackLivesMatter https://t.co/jFXG0JSGd6
— Philmonger (@Philmonger)1601002395.0

Other reports on social media show that protesters were breaking windows and destroying property.

Here's more on the second day of Breonna Taylor protests:

Cities brace for more protests following Breonna Taylor decision | WNTwww.youtube.com

Protester lays face-down in Seattle street to block path of bicycle cops — and one officer just rolls right over his head



Police departments in numerous cities across America contended with rioting Wednesday night on the heels of a grand jury decision indicting only one Louisville officer in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor — and the officer wasn't charged with Taylor's death. And two Louisville officers were shot amid rioting there.

Seattle — a hotbed of rioting and protesting all summer — was certainly no exception Wednesday night as at least 13 people were arrested amid street violence. In fact, video caught a rioter smashing a cop in the back of the head with a baseball bat. Fortunately the officer was wearing a helmet and seems to have escaped serious injury.

But another clip out of Seattle — also showing what appears to be total disregard for a human head — is gaining attention as well. However, the roles were reversed in this case.

What are the details?

As police lined up on a street to advance on rioters, video from journalist Kitty Shackleford shows one guy laying face-down in the middle of street, presumably to block the paths of officers.

But one cop who was lined up directly in front of the enterprising protester apparently wasn't about to alter his course in the slightest — and the officer walked his bike's wheels right over the protesters head:

Antifa militant in Seattle laid down in the street to stop the police from moving in on bicycles. Once officer uses… https://t.co/m6uDCFSfA9
— Ian Miles Cheong (@Ian Miles Cheong)1600937413.0

The cop wasn't done, either.

After rolling over the protester's head, the cop swings the back wheel of his bike and smashes it against another protester who was advancing on the police line.

At least two other officers converged on the protester who was laying on the ground, with one appearing to handcuff him. It isn't clear what happened to the protester afterward or if he was injured as a result of the bike's wheels rolling over his head.

What has been the reaction to the skull-as-speedbump video?

As you might expect, particularly given the barrage of attacks on police of late, most folks commenting on Shackleford's video weren't very sympathetic to the protester:

  • "There's a lesson here: when the cops say it's time to go home, wake up from [your] street nap and GTFO," one commenter noted.
  • "How stupid do you have to be to lay down in the street and let someone ride over your head and neck with a bike?" another commenter asked. "These rioters are completely unhinged. Morons, one and all."
  • "That cop is awesome," another commenter said. "Walks his bike over the dude's head, then tail whips it into another one."
  • "How a person handles bumps in the road says a lot about their character," another commenter quipped.
  • "I'm dead, I can't stop laughing," another commenter wrote.

VIDEO: Rioter hits Seattle police officer in back of head with metal baseball bat, explosives thrown at cops



Following Wednesday's decision by a grand jury not to indict police officers on homicide charges in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, cities across the country erupted in protests and violence, including St. Petersburg, Portland, and Louisville, where two police officers were shot. In Seattle, riots erupted that included a vicious baseball bat attack on a police officer.

A shocking video from Wednesday night's riots in Seattle shows a man dressed in all black violently smash a police officer in the back of the head with a metal baseball bat. The police officer was wearing a helmet, which may have saved his life.

The officer was attempting to wrest his bicycle back from a person in the crowd. The masked rioter sneaks up on the officer while he is distracted and steps into a swinging attack with the metal bat that hits the cop in the back of the helmet. The officer was able to keep his footing after being bashed in the head and escaped the violent mob.

Black bloc terrorist tries to kill a Seattle police officer by hitting him in the head with a bat. The Council and… https://t.co/3NBk3a2oSA
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@(((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio)1600952724.0

The Seattle Police Department issued a press release on Wednesday night's violence in the city. "Multiple officers were injured to include one who was struck in the head with a baseball bat cracking his helmet," the statement said, which included photos of the officer's damaged helmet.

Seattle police released these photos of a cracked helmet belonging to the police officer who was viciously attacked… https://t.co/lpo7DsmTQo
— Ian Miles Cheong (@Ian Miles Cheong)1600949452.0

The Seattle Police Department also noted that an individual threw an explosive at law enforcement officers at approximately 10:45 p.m. on Wednesday night. The incendiary device "exploded near waiting bike officers."

When cops attempted to arrest the suspect, they were assaulted with glass bottles and rocks from the crowd of rioters. Police said they "deployed pepper spray and blast balls in an attempt to create space between the officers and the protestors."

Agitators also cut wires powering the security cameras to the precinct and set dumpsters on fire, and more explosives were thrown at officers. Seattle Police declared the ongoing protest an unlawful assembly after several fireworks were fired at police.

The Seattle police said they arrested 13 individuals. Charges include property destruction, resisting arrest, failure to disperse, and assault on an officer.

More fireworks launched at police #Seattleprotests https://t.co/3NhWhDgJWy
— Kitty Shackleford (@Kitty Shackleford)1600931363.0
Thid the video of SPD pushing protestors onto @SeattleCentral College and deploying crowd control weaponry on campu… https://t.co/9dNBB0J5IC
— Alexa (@Alexa)1600930704.0
BREAKING: @SeattlePD rushes and arrests multiple Antifa Militants and BLM Rioters Downtown Seattle. #breonnataylor… https://t.co/tS7M1k7Xeh
— Katie Daviscourt🇺🇸 (@Katie Daviscourt🇺🇸)1600920894.0

Earlier this week, the Department of Justice announced that Seattle is one of three U.S. cities declared to be "anarchist jurisdictions," along with Portland and New York City. The designation could cause those cities to lose federal funding.