Battenfeld: Democrats blame ‘outsiders’ for violent road riot in Boston

Democratic leaders in Massachusetts took pains to disavow blame for the violent and destructive road riot in the country s safest major city over the weekend portraying it as an outsider fueled event Only two out of the more than who gathered for the street takeover in Boston s South End early Sunday morning were arrested two teens from Rhode Island but it s absurd to believe no one in the crowd was from Massachusetts Dozens of people were shooting off fireworks and throwing objects like poles and cones at police during the Internet-driven blockage of the streets setting a police cruiser on fire and destroying it Yet only two people were arrested Not exactly an overwhelming police response Both Boston Mayor Michelle Wu who has repeatedly touted Boston s safety and Gov Maura Healey had an obviously coordinated response to seize the narrative and make it sound like only outsiders not Bostonians or Massachusetts residents were the ones doing the damage Let me be perfectly clear Anyone who targets police and destroys police property or who comes to Massachusetts and engages in dangerous and destructive conduct should be punished to the fullest extent of the law Healey declared So Bostonians should not be punished By the way if you hear a politician say let me be perfectly clear beware they are not genuinely being transparent Do not come into Boston to disrespect our neighborhood and cause harm and disorder Wu mentioned These outside groups are not welcome to come and treat our city this way We will hold those individuals accountable Police vowed to arrest those folks who may have been responsible for the acts of violence but why weren t more people rounded up at the time This is not to be tolerated and we are going to do all we can to hold those folks accountable Police Commissioner Michael Cox commented We re going to get every video and every bit of evidence to find every individual involved Sure and if they are Massachusetts residents we ll let them go because that would discredit the false narrative that Wu and Healey were trying to perpetrate Leaders declared the street takeover was part of a staged attack on Massachusetts Ave and Tremont Street through spreading the word on social media and group messages These street takeovers are not spontaneous events but are pre-planned and coordinated through social media platforms and group messaging applications Participants share meeting points times and driving routes in advance to allow large numbers to join intersections before police arrive prosecutor Lisa Deacutis noted Police arrested William Cantwell of West Warwick R I and Julian Bowers of Cumberland R I after they were seen hurling objects at police officers and the police car Cantwell was circulated on Monday after posting bail and Bowers was disclosed on bail Prosecutors had required for a higher bail but a judge set the lower amounts The assault on the men and women of the Boston Police Department in the South End Roxbury must be prosecuted City Councilor Ed Flynn declared in a report If convicted a state sentence is warranted We can t accept the ongoing lawlessness in Boston Police noted there were similar staged events in Randolph and Middleborough State police noted cars were part of a gathering in a parking lot near Way This was a staged event where they closed off certain sectors of neighborhoods and streets Boston Police Patrolmen s Association President Larry Calderone noted In our opinion they lure police into a gauntlet and then attack them There is no tolerance in the city of Boston for that Gov Maura Healey Stuart Cahill Boston Herald File