Kenosha businessman reflects on Jacob Blake riot 2 years after a mob burned his business down
Ahead of midterm elections, a Kenosha businessman pleads politicians to put politics aside when it comes to promoting public safety amid rising crime.
A Kenosha businessman, two years after a mob looted and burned his family business to the ground, criticized Democrats for initially supporting the defund the police movement and called on lawmakers to unite to condemn rioting.
"If you want to protest, then okay, fine let’s do that," Scott Carpenter, the manager of B&L Office Furniture, told Fox News. "But we can’t bring in the rioting and the disaster stuff that happens with that."
In a summer of unrest, Kenosha was home to one of the more memorable riots in 2020. Several businesses, including a used car lot, were set ablaze after a police officer shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back during a struggle. It's also when Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed two protesters and seriously injured a third.
Carpenter said the looting and destruction of his business in the Wisconsin city cost him millions of dollars in damage and loss.
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Scott Carpenter, manager of B&L Office Furniture, looks at the damage to his business that was torched the during violent protests on Aug. 25, 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
"We lost our entire 10,000 square foot building that we had been in for 30 years and all the contents inside it," Carpenter said. "It was a complete loss."
"A lot of business people put a lot into the community," Carpenter said. "When you start attacking those places ... you’re hurting the community and taking away from the true meaning of the protest."
Carpenter criticized politicians who pushed statements to defund the police after the Blake shooting, but didn't make an effort to help Kenosha rebuild.
"Now you're hearing 'oh, you know, we don't want to defund the police,'" Carpenter said. "But before, the song that was being sang was defund the police … which makes no sense."
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The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed legislation that would provide funding for local police departments. While the four-bill package received bipartisan support, Republicans called out Democrats, arguing that they were trying to hide past support for the defund the police movement.
Wisconsin needs "politicians willing to put their political agendas aside when it comes to down to, you know, creating a safe environment for people," Carpenter said.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers vetoed legislation known as the "riot bill," which aimed to define "riot" and authorize criminal charges against protestors involved. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)
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He also criticized Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, arguing that the Democrat's statements favored rioters and failed to support Kenosha.
"While we do not have all of the details yet, what we know for certain is that he is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country," Evers said following the Blake shooting. A local newspaper's editorial board said the "outrageous statement" showed the governor was "taking sides," and condemned him for belatedly sending in the National Guard.
Carpenter said Evers, up for reelection in November, wouldn't get his vote.
"I just don't think he did what Kenosha needed done," Carpenter said. "His time is gone, and it’s time for somebody else to step in there."
Evers vetoed legislation in April that would have authorized criminal charges against protesters at demonstrations in which rioting broke out. The governor and other opponents said it could infringe on First Amendment rights.
An American flag flies over a burning building during the riot in Kenosha aftert the police shooting of Jacob Blake in August 2020. (Photo by Joshua Lott/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
"I really would like to see whoever becomes governor to take a look at the bill they were trying to get passed on rioting," Carpenter said.
"We have that right to protest," he continued. "Anyone can do it and I don’t want that right taken away from me … but I would never get involved into a riot. That needs to go."
Carpenter said anyone associated with Black Lives Matter in Kenosha protests should have condemned the violence, though he doesn't blame the group for the rioting.
"When they start burning buildings down and destroying cities," the message behind the demonstration gets lost, Carpenter told Fox News.
A Black Lives Matter demonstrator confronts police in front of the Kenosha County Courthouse during a third night of unrest on Aug. 25, 2020 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Carpenter said he suspects Republicans would do a better job handling crime. But the businessman hopes both parties will work together to promote public safety and curb violence.
"We need to look at a root cause on that and see what we can do to solve those issues," Carpenter said. "Put politics aside when it comes to safety."
"That needs to be done right away," he told Fox News. "People working together and putting politics aside is always a good thing to do."
