User Panel
I have been in a protest that got violent, but I was on the other side of the riot shields. At the front gate of the Presidio of San Francisco. Very little happened in front of me, but a few of my friends had people try to grab their shields. The grabbers got their knuckles rapped.
During the run up to Desert Storm I was on the sidewalk observing the student protesters. The thing I most noticed was how much like "imitation hippie" they all seemed... specially purchased hippie outfits for the occasion. |
|
There was a big to-do about a KKK march in Austin, I think in the mid-late 80s. We had multiple TV crews covering it, including a three-man crew with the KKK. I volunteered for that one because no one else would go.
Lots of protestors, maybe a dozen Klansmen. Got hit in the arm with a rock, but that was all. Cops kept a pretty good lid on things. |
|
When I was a kid, I was staying with my aunt and uncle when the Watts riot broke out just a couple of blocks from where they lived. Me and my cousin rode our bicycles down to watch the action. The California National Guard set up road blocks with jeeps with machine guns on the corner two houses down from where my uncle lived. Everyone was walking around with rifles and shotguns.
|
|
Walked into a large BLM protest in London three summers ago. It was very interesting.
|
|
Always wanted to. It's on my bucket list.
riot dead kennedys (lyrics) Tomorrow you're homeless, tonight it's a blast! |
|
Yes. Many. Some large. Most small.
Once accidentally. A few years ago, I decided to drive the wife and kids to downtown DC for a (Saturday or Sunday?) to walk the mall, museums, eat lunch, hang out, roll home. Just spend a day down there. What I didn't realize until it was too late was that it was the day of the Womans March immediately after Trump's inauguration. Lol Took a wrong turn and immediately found ourselves surrounded by 10s of thousands of pussy hats and all manner of filth and scum. Revolting. But educational for the kids. We had plenty of time in the car, slowly driving through to make our way out to observe and comment on the filth and ignorance and scum marching and screeching. Turned on CSPAN to listen to the speeches and make commentary. So sick. Anyway. That was an experience I'd like to forget. |
|
Took part in one of the huge tax protests in Nashville years ago. The then Governor, Phil Breddesen wanted an income tax voted in.
Some of the House said they were considering voting for it. The amount of people that could fit in the Legislative Plaza in Nashville was amazing. The overflow into surrounding streets was something else also. I was at Barrett at the time. Ronnie said he would pay us the days wages if we would go down to protest. There were 6 or 7 of us that went. |
|
Quoted: Took part in one of the huge tax protests in Nashville years ago. The then Governor, Phil Breddesen wanted an income tax voted in. Some of the House said they were considering voting for it. The amount of people that could fit in the Legislative Plaza in Nashville was amazing. The overflow into surrounding streets was something else also. I was at Barrett at the time. Ronnie said he would pay us the days wages if we would go down to protest. There were 6 or 7 of us that went. View Quote |
|
In Nassau late 80s. Ship was there for a morale/liberty port. We were sitting at a bar, and a bunch of the locals and cops were going at it a couple blocks away. It was pretty entertaining to watch while drinking some cold ones. No clue why there was a protest/riot.
Pretty crazy trip. I was on an FBM sub tender so we had the capability of carrying Trident 1 missiles, torpedoes, harpoons, t-hawks. No clue what was onboard at the time. We very rarely went to sea, and it was even more rare for us to have a liberty port. 1. Our XO ruined his 20+ year career by getting so drunk he took a dump off his hotel room balcony onto the pool deck. 2. One of my buddies and me carried our chief back to the ship after we'd only been there a few hours. The drug and alcohol abuse coordinator knew he was an alcoholic and binge drinker and was buying him shots. We cussed him out, and took the chief back to the ship. We buried the chief in March of last year. Good dude, who looked out for us like a father. He lived 20+ years longer than I thought he would. 3. We paid a taxi driver $20 to try and run over our officers, and forced them to dive into a ditch/bushes. That shit is etched into my brain forever. 4. A/C in my shop went down, and nobody noticed. It fried some key equipment. Cards melted/welded into the card cage. Wire runs opened. The other tech and I were awake for 3-4 days trying to fix the shit. Found out after we got back that one of the replacement card cage was for a previous generation of equipment and so we had zero chance of fixing it until we got the right part. Being awake that long being fueled on coffee and cokes is interesting. |
|
Quoted: Got caught up in a riot in Columbus, OH many years ago. Wasn't huge but several blocks around where I work. Drove like a mofo right out of it, gun on lap swearing I'd mow people over rather than get Reginald Denny'd. View Quote Campus? For me personally. Late 1999 or early 2000, in Kosovo, French sector. Assigned to the 82nd. Had to cross the Ibar River (spelling?) using a train trussel to head into some forgotten city. Locals were rioting and the US was sent in to squash it. That was one of a few there. |
|
I've been in a few up at Michigan State University's annual Cedar Fest.
I was also in Ann Arbor when the Fab 5 lost the NCAAM Basketball |
|
Quoted: Yes, Up rising and Coup D'etat in the Philippines back in the 80's. View Quote About that time I was on a plane taxiing at Hickham, part of the 14th Infantry, 25th ID being sent to "do something" (no clear mission, a scary sobering thought) when Marcos stepped down. We never got off the runway. |
|
Quoted: I've been in a few up at Michigan State University's annual Cedar Fest. I was also in Ann Arbor when the Fab 5 lost the NCAAM Basketball View Quote When I was looking at schools, Colorado State got an eyeball on it. But I read (gasp!) the students had dragged a couch into the street and set it on fire. I decided from 2000 miles away that Fort Collins was too wild ( this would have been 1975 thinking). Instead I went to Michigan State. Where I watched all of Earvin's home games from a great seat. The early unofficial Cedar Fests were not that crazy, but then they got crazy and ... no more. |
|
Quoted: When I was a kid, I was staying with my aunt and uncle when the Watts riot broke out just a couple of blocks from where they lived. Me and my cousin rode our bicycles down to watch the action. The California National Guard set up road blocks with jeeps with machine guns on the corner two houses down from where my uncle lived. Everyone was walking around with rifles and shotguns. View Quote My Dad's store (112th street near Wilmington Ave) was gutted. He quit the grocery business and went to work for Sanyo. My uncle's store near Century Blvd was in a slightly safer area and defended with the Marlin lever action I now possess. |
|
Prison riot in 2005.
I would estimate five dead when it was all said and done and many wounded. We never entered the facility after its total fall for three days after its origination (the riot) began. Huey's at night from where I do not know, gassed the place two days latter in order to gain complete control by then. I would say they were from Ft. Hood Texas by the looks and tactics used, about a two hour haul ass from there at that time. Many of us saw this basically coming for weeks before its occurrence. Materials going missing, unusual gang rivalries, the general air of stress within the facility leading to combat being prevalent at that time, and so forth. I would hold the Chief of Security over that facility mainly responsible for many aspects of inmate behavior and consequent actions before the episode went full blown. I personally witnessed this individual threatening unruly inmates in the back or the more isolated part of the facility where I worked. He was brazenly threatening a several gang groups (Crips and Bloods with him being black himself using profanity and the the "N" word several times in a threatening manner) alone in the yard with a gas gun on his lonesome. He was very fortunate in my estimation that he wasn't taken captive or worse on that particular occasion. This particular facility has long since been closed now. This would have been along the lines of an official report I would have submitted if I would have ever been instructed to do so. Instead, it was mainly covered up in the usual political way. |
|
Boston
Like 1979 I think Off campus near Northeastern University Cops on horses, my buddy got pinned by one. Against a door, up 4 steps from the street. It was cool I was on the 3rd flr at a party watching cops shampoo motherfuvkers and drag mouthy broads by the hair into the wagons Then the war did soon engage It was woman to woman and man to man Shillelagh law was all the rage And a row and a ruction soon began |
|
Quoted: Took part in one of the huge tax protests in Nashville years ago. The then Governor, Phil Breddesen wanted an income tax voted in. Some of the House said they were considering voting for it. The amount of people that could fit in the Legislative Plaza in Nashville was amazing. The overflow into surrounding streets was something else also. I was at Barrett at the time. Ronnie said he would pay us the days wages if we would go down to protest. There were 6 or 7 of us that went. View Quote I was in Nashville that day. All those cars were circling the capitol and honking their horns. I don't consider that a riot but a demonstration (of a peaceful nature). |
|
|
View Quote Needs happy switch. |
|
Protest that was almost a riot in Bosnia in the late 1990s. Marines were up on the roof with rifles (would you believe, Mini-14s with choate stocks?)
|
|
Virginia Beach 1989.
My agency responded the second night as mutual aid. Twenty eight of us went, as we came in from the old 44 people lined the streets cheering. Afterwards one of their city councilmen stated that bringing us to a riot was like "throwing kerosine on a fire". |
|
I was at that target 24 hours before it got looted. Had to take a long windy path to get there because they were closing roads for the protest. When I was getting out of there the cops started firing teargas. Part of me was intrigued. Most of me said 'roll up the damn window, run that red light, and get the fuck out of dodge!'
I did snap a picture though. |
|
|
We had 400-500 republicans at city Hall like 10 years ago. I think we hurt some people’s feelings and there were probably a couple of parking tickets.
|
|
|
Quoted: They murdered people It’s observed as a day of national shame View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: I was near enough to one in Seoul, Korea in the early 90’s to know that I didn’t want to be in one. ROK Army and Police didn’t fuck around. They busted some heads. They murdered people It’s observed as a day of national shame I heard about a ROK MP, iirc, shooting up a particular ville somewhere right below the DMZ about ten years prior. Heard he used an M-1 or M-2 carbine on his victims. The only specified reason for the assault was mental issues on the ROK's part. I was actually not surprised about this incident occurring. Some of their training back then could have been considered even by USMC standards at the time, quite severe and potentially down right brutal in certain instances. He could have been an undercover agent/insurgent with communist ties or loyalties doing an assassination of some sort and attempting to make it look like something else who knows. The border/DMZ area back then was potentially quite active for both sides. |
|
Yes.
Columbia Cup 1982. Crowd around 50,000. Some nut drove his car through it. Flipped and pinned himself under it. Ambulance wouldn’t respond until we cleared a path. Sgt. gave me the M-79 to launch the gas. He told me to skip the rounds into the crowd. First round skipped right into some asshole standing in front of everyone. Guy dropped like a sack kittens. The crowd dispersed in 0.001 seconds. Car wreck guy taken to hospital. Yeah! Ed. |
|
|
I was downtown Atlanta for the Peach bowl one year, New Year Eve. Well, after the game my wife's friend and her husband wanted to see the peach drop. We walked through a sea of people, thousands it seemed, and finally the other guy and I looked at each other and said this isn't a good idea, let's go.
We made it back upstream in the crowd to the Marta station. There was a huge crowd on the other side of the station watching something out of sight between two buildings. Suddenly the crowd surged back, a movement of so many people I couldn't believe it was possible. It looked like Godzilla or the Cloverfield monster had appeared between the buildings, out of sight of us, and the crowd was panicking to get away. I was slow to react, trying to process what was happening, but the other guy grabbed his wife and moved her behind a huge concrete planter. I still admire the speed with which he grabbed her to protect her. I still feel ashamed and guilty that that wasn't my first instinct. It turned out to be unnecessary. We were able to run down the stairs and jump on a train immediately. We later learned on the news that there were multiple stabbings around the time we saw what we saw, that had to be what the crowd reacted to. The whole experience did not change my hatred of crowds. That's as close as I want to be to a riot. |
|
I was there for the Ayodhya Riots in India.
Actually I was driving through Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to Nepal. It was the scariest 24 hours of my life. I was traveling in a private car with a German Engineer, two British Nurses and a Sikh Driver whom I credit with getting us safely through it all with the loss of most of our personal belongs but our skins and dignity remaining intact. |
|
A sports celebration that turned into a riot? Yes. Light poles torn down, cars flipped over. I was drunk and high and stood on the steps of the bar and watched in amazement.
Rose Bowl part on State Street, Madison, WI 1993 |
|
Quoted: I was there for the Ayodhya Riots in India. Actually I was driving through Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to Nepal. It was the scariest 24 hours of my life. I was traveling in a private car with a German Engineer, two British Nurses and a Sikh Driver whom I credit with getting us safely through it all with the loss of most of our personal belongs but our skins and dignity remaining intact. View Quote This kind of stuff is scary I don't care who you are if you are sane, especially when you are not well armed enough, under manned, and extremely outnumbered to begin with. Right down to the center of your soul, where killing someone is always potentially on the short list, and where generally mercy or compassion are not viable options for the locals if it really breaks out good enough. |
|
I was working on "The Desk" at the White House one Saturday during the Reagan administration. I was certifying a new guy and I could actually leave to get us lunch (otherwise unheard of). So I left the gate, went 3 blocks east, got lunch for us and started to walk back. There was a helluva crowd. Angry. Really angry. I had seen protests before. But this was HUGE. I was standing at the outer edge (suit and tie and clearly not belonging) 2 blocks away wondering how I was going to get back (and I NEEDED to get back) and how this crowd moved in so quickly (from staging at the Ellipse).
While I was trying to figure this out a mounted Park Policeman sidled up to me, looked down and asked me (in my conservative suit) what I thought I was doing. I pulled my WH ID, flashed it and said I need to get back to the White House. He paused, told me to grab hold of part of his saddle (that horse was HUGE ). He turned the horse sideways to the crowd and then started slowly side-walking into them. Man did those angry hippies move out of the way! Slowly, begrudgingly - but they split apart to keep from getting stepped on. We did that slowly for almost 2 blocks until we reached the gate - where screaming protestors throwing stuff were pressed up against it. I flashed my ID and some uniformed division guys came out to get me in. It turned out it was 250,000 protestors with a "Get Us Out of South America" protest. Article on the protest: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/09/20/250000-march-to-protest-reagans-policies/680f4df6-905b-443a-859f-10d8fd3c6a04/ No lunches were harmed. The guy I was certifying asked me why I took so long. |
|
Ah, I forgot about Europe in 1999. I had business requiring me to visit most of the US installations in western Europe and the UK...and there were some pissed of protesters at a number of them due to the bombing campaign of Yugoslavia. Aviano was particularly sporty. But we knew that going in.
|
|
|
|
Expecting NEW responses in this thread after the last couple days..............................................
|
|
Yes German soccer riot. It was us vs about a 1000 cops on foot and horses...went from stadium to city to train station. Alot of damage. I missed getting crushed by a horse..my buddy holger.got a baton in the face..
|
|
|
|
baghdhdad on 2003 I was in a humvee manning 30meter from muhtafa al sadr.
there were about 10,000 iraqis in front of us I have a great photo of it I shared here many times |
|
Yup. Columbus OH 2002 or so. Tear gas, rubber bullets, burned cop cars, random arson etc.
It started as a block party and went bad very quickly. I'd guess 10k people at least. |
|
I wasn’t paying attention to the news cycle in 2017 and went to DC to check out some museums for the day. It was March for Our lives Gun protest.
In 2012, I was vacationing in Prague and having a nice time in my walk to the museum on communism. Almost right outside of it, was a MASSIVE protest/assembly of people demanding free college, free healthcare, bigger govt stuff. Ironic. |
|
Closest I was to being in one, was outside the Hard Rock Cafe, during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, when they closed at 4:00 am and nobody wanted to go home.
Industrial level use of pepper spray quickly quelled this mostly soft white college age riot. |
|
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.