Chicago’s Democratic mayor, Brandon Johnson, defended teen looters in a press conference
Wednesday after a reporter referred to a recent incident of looting as “mob action.”
A reporter asked Johnson about the “mob action” that resulted in extensive damage and looting
at a 7-Eleven convenience store and Johnson apparently took issue with the phrase.
“No, that’s not appropriate. We’re not talking about mob action. I didn’t say that,” Johnson said.
“It’s important that we speak of these dynamics in an appropriate way.”
Johnson continued on and asserted that using the phrase “mob action” was like calling the youths
“baby Al Capones.”
“We have to be very careful when we use language to describe certain behavior,” Johnson
continued. “There’s history in this city. I mean, to refer to children as like baby Al Capones is
not appropriate.
The incident in question occurred on July 31 when hundreds of Chicago youth, ranging in ages
from 12 to 20 years old, rampaged a 7-Eleven store in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood.
Footage from that night shows teens and young adults breaking windows, knocking over
displays, and stealing merchandise. Chicago police arrested 40 suspects at the scene, aged 12 to
20 years old, at least two of whom had guns (though no shots were fired).
Under Illinois state code, a “mob action” occurs when two or more people are assembled
“without authority of the law” with the purpose “to do an unlawful act.” Several people on social
media pointed out this definition and questioned whether the mayor was familiar with the state
code.
“The ‘gathering’ was exactly what a ‘mob action’ is under Illinois law,” one person said on
'X'.
“This guy leads the 3rd largest City in America and thinks mob action has something to do with
Al Capone. What a complete moron,” another 'X' user said.
https://t.co/C59N7Lmy3a.
— Steve Burrows (@SteveBurrows2) August 3, 2023
This guy leads the 3rd largest City in America and thinks mob action has something to do with Al Capone. What a complete moron https://t.co/09GeWdaxnT
“Got it. Referring to the mobs of looting criminals as a mob is the problem. Thanks, Mayor,” another commented.
Follow us on X!
MSNBC is carrying Biden’s weight again. Joe Biden’s horrible economic policies lead to our credit downgrade, not Jan 6th. https://t.co/eYxCWktCmO
— MRCTV (@mrctv) August 3, 2023