Why they call it a fence is beyond rational people’s understanding. At best it was a poor attempt of barricade.
It is just a word game: If they call it barricade or blockage, it has a negative connotation and makes them look bad. Calling it fence evokes a nice suburban image of a front garden with toddlers playing with puppies in a summer day. White Supremacist in Evil Big pick up truck drives through a fence incites empathy for them (they think) while White Supremacist in Evil Big pick up truck drives through a barricade makes people wonder why was there a barricade to begin with and who put it there.
Pickup sped through crowd and rammed through the fence, sparks flying. pic.twitter.com/0zumuvzNKC
— Hannah Ray Lambert (@TheHannahRay) August 5, 2020
After that tweet, the author posted a couple of photos which are not the best thing that they could have done to bolster their call as “peaceful protesters”.
One of the complains they have been spouting is that the police and the Federal LEOs have been targeting their medics who do nothing else but provide first aid to those who are unjustly targeted by the munitions throw at them, by the Gestapo Law Enforcemen and horseshit like that.
I have found convenient that the “red cross” markings are done with appears to be electrical tape and not something more permanent. Two pulls of the roll and the bomb-thrower now becomes a peaceful healing man, right?
But when you actively become involved in the illegal protest by parking the alleged rescue vehicle identified with the red cross as part of a barricade to impede the peaceful traffic of civilians and rescue vehicles, you are no longer covered by the niceties of society and have become an active target of opportunity.
Well, at least some jackhole lost their motorcycle. Probably set them back several thousand. Glad to see it.
A good chance the frame on that puppy is now bent … pretty much a write-off. And good luck getting insurance to pay for it.
Targeting “medics” … Yeah, maybe, if their comrades weren’t using blinding lasers and throwing IED shrapnel grenades.
(Referring to the dragged motorcycle, not the vehicle that did the dragging, although that’s probably not in the greatest of shapes either.)
Over the weekend someone posted a video of “PRESS” stickers being passed out to people right before they tried to breach a fence at the Federal Building (or the police union HQ, I can’t remember which).
That was quickly followed by lots of tweets and videos of the Portland cops “attacking clearly-identified members of the press” and somesuch.
“sped through crowd and rammed fence”? Pack of lies. Correct description: he very slowly drove through the open lane in between crowds of people, until some rioter decided to raise the ante by throwing an obstacle in the way. At that point the driver, quite rationally, decided to get out of Dodge.
From the customary international humanitarian law:
Rule 25. Medical personnel exclusively assigned to medical duties must be respected and protected in all circumstances. They lose their protection if they commit, outside their humanitarian function, acts harmful to the enemy.
Whereas the First Geneva Convention and Additional Protocol I provide for the loss of protection of medical units and transports in case they are used to commit, “outside their humanitarian function, acts harmful to the enemy”, Additional Protocol II provides for the loss of protection in case they are used to commit “hostile acts, outside their humanitarian function”. According to the Commentary on the Additional Protocols, the meaning of both terms is the same.
Although these provisions specifically apply to medical units, the rule on loss of protection contained therein can be applied by analogy to medical personnel.
In general, taking a direct part in hostilities, in violation of the principle of strict neutrality and outside the humanitarian function of medical personnel, is considered an act harmful to the enemy. This means that if medical teams are incorporated into combat units and their medical personnel bear arms and take a direct part in hostilities, they are not entitled to protection.