Dennis Forney’s July 17 interview of Rep. Steve Smyk was long on innuendo and short on facts.
One comment unfairly tarnished a group of local citizens. The column said that a Rehoboth protest against the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police “remained peaceful under strong police presence.”
I wasn’t there, but I know people who were. Their commitment to peace is genuine. The column suggests that, but for the state police, this group would have been rioting at the Rehoboth outlets. Was there any indication of that?
To bolster his argument about how dangerous the situation was statewide, Smyk said, “We had property owners standing outside their businesses with guns. They had already lost a lot to COVID, and they couldn’t afford to lose more. Up and down the state, concern spread.”
Smyk’s comment conjures up images of a state ready to erupt in chaos.
Is that true? And were property owners responding to a real danger or something else?
I know of one business that closed early that day because the owner had heard, through a police connection, about potential violence in the area.
So, was the supposed response of property owners because of the situation on the ground or the result of rumors?
Smyk warned darkly of “those coming into Delaware” and about how police felt like “they were facing a military foe.”
Again, innuendo. We need to know the facts.
In early June, President Trump and AG William Barr made similar vague comments about antifa (anti-fascist) agitators being involved in Washington’s demonstrations.
But a FBI report showed no antifa connection (The Nation, June 2).
A June 2 Associated Press story was headlined, “False claims of antifa protestors plague small U.S. cities.”
According to the article, “social media has lit up with false rumors that the far-left-leaning group is transporting people to wreak havoc on small cities across America.”
The article continued, “Twitter determined Monday that a tweet promising antifa would ‘move into residential areas’ and ‘white’ neighborhoods was sent by the white supremacy group Evropa.”
Was something similar happening here?
As for Delaware, if there was a military-style foe moving in, State Police Superintendent Col. Nathaniel McQueen didn’t appear to know about it, judging from an article in the June 5 Cape Gazette.
“So far, only the first Wilmington protest May 30, and another held the next day in Dover resulted in looting of stores and property damage. With those exceptions, McQueen said, other protests have been a great exercise in First Amendment rights.”
(McQueen has since been confirmed as secretary of the state Department of Safety and Homeland Security.)
So what’s the story?
In his column, Forney said that by the end of his interview with Smyk he was “convinced that the seriousness of what occurred over that period of a week deserves a bipartisan state investigation.” I don’t know if that’s necessary. Perhaps a second column could provide us with more facts. It’s true, as the paper’s motto says, that the “price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” But vigilance, unless guided by facts and reason, leads to fear and paranoia, the very enemies of freedom.
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