Citizens around the nation are rising up and doing what local and state governments are not doing – protecting their neighborhood.
“We are fed up with the crime and the revolving door in the criminal justice system, the looting, and the rioting,” said Anthony Giordano. “This was not protesting that was happening in Philadelphia and around the country. This was looting and rioting and criminal behavior. And we were not going to stand for it.”
Giordano, the founder of Stand Up South Philly, said they have organized dozens of local residents to protect their communities against the rioters and looters.
“We’re strong here. We’re blue collar,” Mr. Giordano said during an interview on Fox & Friends. “South Philly stood strong today.”
An image of his group standing in front of a Target store generated national headlines.
“South Philadelphia is a tough neighborhood,” he said. “I was in and out of every neighborhood yesterday making sure everything was fine. We were being circled at some point. They wanted to get into that Target. We refused to let them get into that Target. And, South Philly stood strong yesterday.”
Elsewhere, men armed with baseball bats and golf clubs conducted street patrols — rooting out would-be looters and demanding they leave the neighborhood.
Mr. Giordano says the message of his group is spreading across the country.
“That if you stand up in your communities, and say ‘no,’ and unite with your community — the African-American community, the Latino community, the Asian community — and stand up against this violence, the violence will end eventually,” Giordano he said.