In a series of tweets, Joy Reid, the MSNBC host of The ReidOut, shared her belief that ‘white nationalist mobs’ were responsible for the riots and violence across the country, not Black Lives Matter (BLM). While there are some questions about how involved aspects of the BLM movement are in the protests that turn violent, there is no doubt that the vast majority of the instigators are leftists and anarchists and not the indefinable ‘white nationalist mob.’

Much of the consistent violence in the country related to the BLM movements is focused in Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon. In a recent report from Seattle, Reid points out that the BLM movement has nothing to do with the violence since the vast majority of those arrested were white and from out of state.

In her first tweet, Reid stated, “Let me repeat this for those inventing the idea of ‘Black Lives Matter riots.’ BLM doesn’t ‘riot.’ They march against police violence. And note that those caught setting fires, assaulting and shooting people are consistently to the RIGHT, not the left.”

Though Reid gives the Seattle report as her citation, nowhere in the news article does it say that those arrested for violent offenses, vandalism and looting were Right in their political leanings. Instead, it just says 70% of those arrested were not from Seattle, but other cities and states and the vast majority were white.

Reid must not be aware of the political and demographic nature of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest in general or is just content to ignore it to continue a particular narrative.

Washington State and Oregon are overwhelmingly white, with the U.S. Census reporting that whites make up 86.7% of Oregon’s population and 78.5% of Washington’s. That the majority of those arrested are white isn’t surprising but expected.

In addition, the Pacific Northwest is known for its radical leftist stance, especially in the Seattle area. While the Western part and more rural areas of the state tend to lean in a conservative direction, the most populous part of the state surrounding Seattle is overwhelmingly liberal.

The state was also at the center of the WTO riots in 1999 and a lot of other Leftist protests and demonstrations throughout the years. Rarely, if ever, has there been any type of white supremacist rally or gathering in Seattle. There would hardly be enough people who lean that way to fill a school bus, let alone cause destruction and chaos on a mass scale.

So, based on all of that circumstantial evidence, why does Reid conclude that all of the chaos and violence was the result of ‘white supremacists’ and Right-wing groups, while ignoring the culpability of the Left?

In a later tweet, Reid doubled down on her unverified opinion, stating, “Violence and mayhem, perpetrated by people who support HIM, unleashed at night and let’s just be clear: by white nationalist mobs, often against other young white people (both Rosenbaum and Huber were white), in cities with few Black people, IS HIS RE-ELECTION STRATEGY. Period.”

There is no concrete information about the racial make-up of Antifa and anarchist groups, as many hide their identities by using masks, but the arrest, video and photographic evidence seems to suggest that the vast majority of people who are part of the violent riots and clashes against police are white and likely lean left politically.

Reid goes on in the Twitter thread to state, “So let’s stop giving in to the narrative Trump and his allies are inventing to try and help him cling to power. Autocrats always eventually get to this place: accusing the opposition of being anarchic and violent to cover up their own rot and violence.”

She continues, “You are MUCH more at risk from unmasked Trump cultists coming home to your suburb from a superspreader rally and coughing or sneezing on you in Walmart or touching the door handle after wiping their nose than you are from a Black Lives Matter rally.”

Isn’t it possible that individuals that support anarchy and participate in Antifa riots could also be using the BLM protests to push their agenda? Why is Reid exclusively stating that the ‘white nationalist mob’ is responsible when all the evidence seems to suggest otherwise?

In the end, it’s just another example of how the more radical aspects of the mainstream media ignore certain facts to concoct a narrative that blames the other side without sufficient evidence.

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