And of course the local Democrat pols claim that by stating the facts cops are doing something wrong, but in many of the incidents the police are being targeted as well.

From the Des Moines Register:

Des Moines police are trying to determine what led to a series of attacks outside the Iowa State Fairgrounds over the weekend that included the assault of two police officers.

At least three people were arrested Friday through early Monday morning. Other arrests may occur as officers investigate the incidents, officials said.

“We don’t know if this was juveniles fighting or a group of kids singling out white citizens leaving the fairgrounds,” Sgt. Lori Lavorato said. “It’s all under investigation, but it’s very possible it has racial overtones.”

Officials announced last week that they were stepping up security outside the fairgrounds after a series of attacks Aug. 14 that included a pair of stabbings. Investigators are still investigating those assaults and victims intend to pursue charges.

Sgt. David Murillo stated in a report on Friday night, “On-duty officers at the fairgrounds advise there was a group of 30 to 40 individuals roaming the fairgrounds openly calling it ‘beat whitey night.’ “

Sounds pretty clear that there were racial overtones to the violence. But not according to State Representative Ak0 Abdul-Samad, who is actively minimizing the criminality of the assailants:

Jammie Carroll, 36, of Polk City, was seriously injured in the 3000 block of East Grand Avenue Friday night after a group of people beat him up, causing severe injuries to his eyes, cheekbones and nose, Murillo wrote. Carroll is white, and many of the suspects are black, police said.

State Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad, D-Des Moines, who has worked to fight gang-related violence, said he doesn’t have enough information to decide if the fights were racially motivated. He said police comments that race was involved could miss other factors, such as nonracial taunting.

“Unfortunately, like any other city, you have certain parts of town that individuals congregate in,” Abdul-Samad said. “You have those that go into that area with no problem, and those who cannot.”

Samad here seems to be saying that Whites can’t go into “Black” areas of the city they live in expecting to not be attacked … but that isn’t racially motivated violence?

Meanwhile the violence was severe enough to scare residents not involved, and it should. Welcome to post-racial America where the class and race warfare rhetoric popular with the left and disseminated in schools has created a generation of people who think beating up White folk is acceptable:

About 10:30 p.m. Sunday, two police officers were attacked as they waded into a combative crowd outside the fairgrounds’ main gates at East 30th Street and Grand Avenue.

Sgt. Richard Schuett and reserve Officer Lynn Hubbs both complained of head, neck and back pain after being punched from behind while trying to make arrests.

“There were pockets of people fighting,” Schuett said. “People were leaving the fair and they were walking into the middle of them. We were trying to move people along but some of them wouldn’t move.”

A police report says Schuett “was on the ground fighting with his suspect, and several other females began to attack him.” Another officer grabbed one of the attackers and tried to make an arrest, but she spun away.

Officers sprayed chemical deterrent and deployed a stun gun while trying to gain control. Two teenage girls were taken into custody for questioning following that incident.

Also Sunday night and early Monday:

– Beth Longen, 25, of Des Moines was at the gas pumps at the QuikTrip store, East 30th Street and University Avenue, taking video of the crowd when she was assaulted about 11:20 p.m., police said. A 17-year-old girl allegedly slapped Longen and threatened her in front of police officers. The teen was one of several taken to police headquarters and later released to parents.

– Earl Tice, 17, of Des Moines was attacked near East 30th Street and Grand Avenue about 9:45 p.m. Sunday. He told officers he was jumped while leaving the fair. Tice was having X-rays taken at a hospital when police took a report from his mother. Officials said he had been kicked and punched.

[…]

Laurie Christensen, a resident of Walker Street near the fairgrounds, said she’s never seen such hostility around the fairgrounds.

Groups “have been openly taunting the police – in the street right to their faces,” she said. “We found some of them that ran from the police hiding in our backyard.”

Thanks Democrats! A few decades of telling Black kids all Whites are “oppressors” has nothing to do with this, I’m sure.

Update: The Smoking Gun has scans of the police reports.

The narrative here is that Philly is just so cash strapped they’re going after anyone they can get, but frankly this is more about a city descending into chaos cracking down on reporters they can’t control. But concentrating on this one hobby blogger distracts from this point:

For the past three years, Marilyn Bess has operated MS Philly Organic,  a small, low-traffic blog that features occasional posts about green living, out of her Manayunk home. Between her blog and infrequent contributions to ehow.com, over the last few years she says she’s made about $50. To Bess, her website is a hobby. To the city of Philadelphia, it’s a potential moneymaker, and the city wants its cut.
In May, the city sent Bess a letter demanding that she pay $300, the price of a business privilege license.

“The real kick in the pants is that I don’t even have a full-time job, so for the city to tell me to pony up $300 for a business privilege license, pay wage tax, business privilege tax, net profits tax on a handful of money is outrageous,” Bess says.

It would be one thing if Bess’ website were, well, an actual business, or if the amount of money the city wanted didn’t outpace her earnings six-fold. Sure, the city has its rules; and yes, cash-strapped cities can’t very well ignore potential sources of income. But at the same time, there must be some room for discretion and common sense.

When Bess pressed her case to officials with the city’s now-closed tax amnesty program, she says, “I was told to hire an accountant.”

They talk about another blogger who raked in a whopping $11 over two years. Clearly the city does not hope these people will continue paying, but it will be hoping to limit the number of bloggers covering their inability to control “flash mobs” and other criminality.

This doesn’t sound right, but S.W.A.T. teams had to fire tear gas into a violent crowd who went on a rampage after hearing Earth Wind and Fire play a set at some arts and crafts festival:

Fort Collins police fired tear gas to disperse a mob, and when that didn’t work, called in a SWAT team to bring rioters under control in the Old Town area early this morning.

Police responded at about 1 a.m. to three separate fights involving large crowds in the area of the Bohemian Nights at NewWest Fest, a music and arts and crafts festival, is underway this weekend.

As officers moved in to break up the fights members of the crowd dispersed. About 400 people gathered at the intersection of Mountain and College Avenues, police said.

Members of the mob threw beer bottles, patio furniture and other objects at police, damaged cars, stole items from festival vendor’s tents and set trash cans on fire.

Several were injured and two people who were thrown through a plate glass window had to be taken to a hospital for treatment.

Police said they did not know the extent of the injuries. No police officers were injured.

The crowd ignored numerous warnings to leave the area or face tear gas, police said.

The mob continued its rampage after tear gas was fired. SWAT and Mobile Field Force teams moved in.

[…]

It was the second of three nights of music at Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest. The riot followed a performance by Grammy winning R&B and Soul band Earth, Wind & Fire.

I was born in ’71 and raised in a house where Eath Wind and Fire were played regularly. This is not music to riot by:

I point this out because it seems more likely that the people in this riot went to the festival planning on rioting. No one can listen to Earth, Wind and Fire and want to break windows. And no one is going to get so amped up by Shining Star that they’re willing to ignore tear gas. It is a summer of discontent and civil order is breaking down.