In a report on December 27th by Counter Current News, Police in Beavercreek Ohio didn’t so much as slow down during protests at the Beavercreek Walmart that day, presumably due to the presence of armed citizens. This is in contrast to previous protests in which not only peaceful protestors, but civilians were being attacked by police.

Among those assaulted by police during previous protests, elementary school students, women pushing strollers on their way to shop, and a retired University of Dayton Law Professor had all been attacked. Reporters with Counter Current News, Alternative Media Syndicate, Greene County Herald, and local NBC 2 News were threatened by police for recording the assaults.

Ohio is a state that allows its citizens to openly carry firearms—a form of cruel irony when one considers that John Crawford was killed for carrying a toy gun. While the law varies between “open carry” states, Ohio’s laws allow citizens to possess firearms in public areas, including stores, without a permit as long as the firearm isn’t concealed. Crawford could have been carrying a real, fully loaded gun, and legally speaking there should not have been any call for alarm unless he was pointing it at someone.

Walmart surveillance video, John Crawford:



It is suggested that the reason why police felt they could get away with this brutality during previous rallies was because there were very few armed citizens present. By December 27th, Counter Current News reported that at least half of those present were carrying firearms, and things were, by all definitions, peaceful.

In NPR’s report, “’Guns Kept People Alive’ During the Civil Rights Movement”, it is argued that “passive resistance did not necessarily mean an unwillingness to use force to protect themselves from violence in other circumstances”. This argument refers to the roll of the armed civil rights leaders from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s, as well as Martin Luther King Jr’s attitude towards firearms for protection (which wasn’t as clear as imagined), both of which have been downplayed over the years.

“I’m very much concerned with how the history of the southern freedom movement or civil rights movement is portrayed. And, I’m very conscious of the gaps in the history, and one important gap in the history, in the portrayal of the movement, is the role of guns in the movement. I worked in the South, I lived with families in the South. There was never a family I stayed with that didn’t have a gun. I know from personal experience and the experiences of others, that guns kept people alive, kept communities safe and all you have to do to understand this is simply think of black people as human beings and they’re gonna respond to terrorism the way anybody else would. The southern freedom movement has become so defined, the narrative of the movement has become so defined by non-violence that anything presented outside that narrative framework really isn’t paid that much attention to. I like the quip that Julian Bond made… that really the way the public understands the civil rights movement can be boiled down to one sentence: Rosa sat down, Martin stood up, then the white folks saw the light and saved the day.” – Charles E. Cobb Jr., author of “This Nonviolent Stuff’ll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible”.

Although several of the protestors present expressed that they personally do not like guns, their purpose was to support John Crawford. Each individual’s personal opinions and beliefs were put to the side to support this one cause.

“Considering there were a handful of folks who we were told had been going around discouraging people from attending because there would be more than just one mindset of people in attendance, the turn out isn’t half bad. This was real progress towards people looking past personal differences and keeping the focus on John and the details of his murder.” – Representatives from Yellow Springs Cop Block.

It cannot be clearly determined whether or not the lack of brutality on the police department’s behalf was due to the presence of armed citizens during the rally, however according to Counter Current News, it definitely seems to be a factor.

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Sources:

B.D.K., Moreh and Newsman, E.J. Counter Current News. Dec 27, 2014. (http://countercurrentnews.com/2014/12/police-stop-brutalizing-protesters-when-armed-citizens-show-up-to-support-john-crawford-rally/)

Butler, Albert. The Root. Aug 21, 2014. (http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2014/08/john_crawford_shooting_open_carry_for_whites_open_season_on_blacks.html)

NPR. Jun 5, 2014. (http://www.npr.org/2014/06/05/319072156/guns-kept-people-alive-during-the-civil-rights-movement)