There’s no question that if scenes like this occurred in Yucaipa or Snohomish it would be the top story in the country

Chris Menahan | Information Liberation – JUNE 4, 2020

With the media being furious with towns like Yucaipa and Snohomish where “white men with large guns” were seen defending their neighborhoods, it’s rather remarkable how little attention they’ve given to the Latin Kings street gang aggressively purging their neighborhoods of “looters” in the suburbs of Chicago.

In Cicero, Illinois over the past few days there were multiple shootouts and people were seen ramming trucks into looters’ cars.

Two people were killed and 60 were arrested.

Frankly, it’s hard to say how much of this was targeting “looters” versus just targeting anyone black who happened to be driving through, there seemed to be a mix of both.

That said, there’s no question that if scenes like this occurred in Yucaipa or Snohomish it would be the top story in the country.

WATCH:

From ABC 7 Chicago, “Cleanup begins after 2 killed in Cicero, 60 arrested; officials, residents call for unity as tensions rise”:

Violence rocked suburban Cicero Monday with two people killed and 60 others arrested as “outside agitators” started looting businesses, Cicero police said.

[…] Several people were caught running with stolen items from The El Patron liquor store near 22nd Street and Cicero Avenue, several other businesses were also hit, officials said.

“There were a lot of rioters that just wanted to take advantage of this,” said Ray Hanania. “A lot of them were standing right here on the street throwing rocks and bottles on the street as cars were coming by.”

The Cicero Police Department said more than 100 local officers along with 120 state and county police officers were dispatched to protect residents and businesses. Two people, both men in their 20s, were found shot to death at different locations. Three suspects in one of the shooting have been taken into custody, police said.

[…] Protesters returned to the streets Tuesday just steps from Village Hall, calling attention to what they say has been a growing tension between African American and Latino residents. Organizers said there were widespread reports that Latino gang members were allegedly protecting their neighborhoods and harassing black residents.

[,…] Cicero officials said they were unaware of those allegations.

You can see the second video above that someone in a truck rams a looter’s car then the cops drive up right behind them, get out of their patrol car and chase the looters down. That certainly suggests the two groups were working together.

Apparently, one of the Latin King’s leaders was allegedly killed in retaliation (AP/Reuters journalists are not particularly interested in covering gang violence in Chicago, so I can’t find any other sources).

According to Wikipedia, the suburb of Cicero is 90 percent Hispanic, with 80 percent of residents being of Mexican descent.

“The 1980s and 1990s saw a heavy influx of Hispanic (mostly Mexican and Central American) residents to Cicero,” Wikipedia says. “Once considered mainly a Czech or Bohemian town, most of the European-style restaurants and shops on 22nd Street (now Cermak Road) have been replaced by Spanish-titled businesses.”