It feels like an inflection point: The acquittal of Daniel Penny happened on the same day as the arrest of the accused murderer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Penny being found not guilty is a repudiation of the anarcho-tyranny the left has been imposing since the Black Lives Matter riots of 2020. Despite last-minute shenanigans from the prosecution, the jury understood that Penny’s restraint of a violent, threatening felon on the subway was justified. The verdict is an indication that people, even in liberal New York City, have had enough of rioting, defunding the police, and soft-on-crime prosecutors who let criminals walk while locking up those who dare to defend themselves and others.
But as the public sours on woke leftism in general, and its approach to crime and public safety in particular, committed leftists may respond by becoming more radical and violent. Just look at the left’s glee at the murder of Thompson.
Caveats apply, of course. The Penny acquittal was the right outcome, but the case should never have been brought. The process is still a punishment, and being found not guilty may not end all of Penny’s legal troubles. Likewise, the man arrested for the murder of Brian Thompson seems to have been, until recently, more of an ideological hodgepodge than a committed leftist — his radicalization seems to have been sudden. And so it is arguable that neither case is indicative of any larger shifts.
And yet. […]
— Read More: thefederalist.com
