Why 2025 Won’t be Summer of Love 2.0…Despite the Violent Left’s Best Efforts

While violent protests across America in 2020 might have been briefly known as The Summer of Love to some, the push for a 2025 repeat performance will likely be known as the Summer of Law and Order. There’s a new sheriff in town at the federal level with Attorney General Pam Bondi, and multiple state and local officials have already spoken publicly about taking a hard line against so-called “mostly peaceful” protests like we’ve already seen in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago in recent days.

A group known as “No Kings” allegedly has plans for 1800 rallies across America this Saturday in what amounts to an attempted color revolution right here in America. Of course, they say the rallies will be peaceful, but Americans have seen what the media and the American left consider peaceful. Given the events in Iran last night ongoing, there could be a whole lot of Islamist terror sympathizers joining the events.

Even NBC (of all places) reported on the “far left online ecosystem” that’s promoting violence at allegedly peaceful protests . . .

It was approaching nightfall in Los Angeles on Sunday when black-clad demonstrators began to torch a row of self-driving Waymo taxis. Within minutes, videos of the fiery scenes began to pop up on social media.

“MORE. MORE AND MORE AND MORE,” a group known as Unity of Fields posted on X, along with a video of the flaming vehicles.

The post wasn’t an anomaly. Since the start of the demonstrations against immigration raids in Los Angeles, the Unity of Fields X account has been pumping out messages urging people to wreak havoc in the streets and “give ’em hell.”

It’s part of a far-left online ecosystem that has proliferated in recent years, experts say. Some of the groups behind the accounts express contempt for peaceful resistance and glorify acts of violence — and even murders, like those of the UnitedHealthcare CEO and two Israeli Embassy staffers…

“Whether they directly threw a Molotov cocktail is actually not as essential as the ecosystem of encouragement and coordination they have created,” said Joel Finkelstein, a co-founder of the Network Contagion Research Institute, a nonpartisan group that tracks online extremism.

2025 Won’t be Summer of Love 2.0

Pam Bondi has made a number of media appearances pledging — in the absence of action by blue city Soros prosecutors — to charge looters, rioters, and other violent actors with federal crimes and putting them in prison for up to twenty years. In fact, she said the mere act of spitting on federal law enforcement will net perpetrators with up to five years in prison.

In Florida, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey laid down the law in a serious, but humorous warning to bad actors.  Florida Politics has the report entitled, Brevard Sheriff warns violent protesters could end up ‘graveyard dead’.

‘We will be notifying your family where to collect your remains at.’

Amid worries about unrest due to protests against the Donald Trump administration, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey is warning that his law enforcement team “will kill” protestors who cross the line into violence.

During remarks in Brevard County, Ivey distinguished between “peaceful protests” and those that “turn violent.”

“You don’t want to let that happen,” Ivey said of the latter, spotlighting riots around the country involving buildings being burned down and police cars being “bricked” as examples.

“If you try to mob rule a car in Brevard County gathering around it, refusing to let the driver leave in our county, you’re most likely going to get run over and dragged across the street,” Ivey continued.

“If you spit on us, you’re going to the hospital and in jail. If you hit one of us, you’re going to the hospital and jail, and most likely get bitten by one of our big, beautiful dogs that we have here. If you throw a brick, a fire bomb, or a pointed gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains at. Because we will kill you, graveyard dead. We’re not going to play.”

Sounds like they aren’t going to play nicely with those who fool around. Watch him talking about what voters put him in office to do.

Sheriff Wayne Ivey our hometown sheriff. This is what I’m talking about right here! #NoKingsProtest pic.twitter.com/szFakxgDsp

— Old School Biker Magazine (@OSB_Magazine) June 12, 2025

Of course, the mainstream media enablers of violent mostly peaceful protests aren’t handling any of this well.

In America, taxpayer funded officials don’t threaten citizens with death for expressing their right to assembly. https://t.co/6IMgDJlK1h

— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) June 12, 2025

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has a similar message for the Sunshine State’s residents and visitors when it comes to dealing with protests that become kinetic. From PJ Media . . .

When American leftists throw their tantrums, it’s the same tired routine: looting, rioting, and blocking traffic, all under the delusion that mayhem somehow moves the needle for their cause. And with this weekend shaping up to be another flashpoint, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis isn’t staying silent. He’s sending a blunt message to the mob: Try that nonsense here, and you’ll face real consequences. Florida won’t tolerate your street chaos.

DeSantis is preparing for the worst, not hoping for the best — and he’s got the law on his side. Thanks to earlier legislation he championed in the wake of the George Floyd riots, Florida has some of the strongest anti-riot provisions in the country. Have you seen footage of rioters blocking traffic or blocking ICE vehicles from detaining illegals? Well, in Florida, if that happens to you, you have the right to hit the gas.

In a no-nonsense interview with Dave Rubin, DeSantis made it clear that Florida drivers won’t be expected to sit still while a left-wing mob surrounds their car — and he’s making sure the law backs them up.

“If you’re driving on one of those streets and a mob comes and surrounds your vehicle and threatens you, you have a right to flee for your safety,” DeSantis said. “So if you drive off and you hit one of these people, that’s their fault for impinging on you.”

DeSantis framed it as part of Florida’s “zero-tolerance policy,” a sharp contrast to the chaos tolerated and even encouraged by blue-state leaders in places like California, Oregon, and New York. Unlike Los Angeles, where anti-ICE rioters have spent the past week turning streets into war zones while city officials barely lift a finger, Florida won’t be coddling criminals who call themselves “activists.”

Meanwhile in Louisiana, law-and-order elected officials are touting a similar line:

YOUR RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE IS NON-NEGOTIABLE! If violent protests block LA roads and you fear for your life, you have a right to escape in your vehicle without civil or criminal liability. Protests expected June 14 in LA cities. Stay safe. #lalege #lagov @SFC_Network pic.twitter.com/7T4vN0WP6l

— Louisiana Freedom Caucus (@LAFreedomCaucus) June 12, 2025

States with stand your ground laws on the books offer residents and visitors a lot more latitude in dealing with violent protesters that stop traffic and attack innocent motorists, or who commit other acts of violence, endangering the lives and well-being of innocents. This is in sharp contrast to duty to retreat states.

The “just run them over” solution to “peaceful protesters” breaking out windows and threatening violence to people inside cars seems to be gaining traction. Even states like Illinois that (of course) don’t have a “stand your ground” laws on the books, sometimes have what is in essence SYG via court precedent.

Good guys and gals would be wise to make sure they’ve got their personal defense tools ready and accessible for this weekend’s potential violence. It’s better to have it and not need it than the other way around. You carry your gun so you’re harder to kill. Also, knowing the law in your state and acting to that standard by which you will be judged, will make you harder to convict.

For those who don’t already have some sort of self-defense legal coverage by one of the major providers, today would be an ideal day to enroll. I’ve had Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network for probably fifteen years now and can’t recommend them highly enough. (Fair disclosure: my endorsements aren’t for sale and they haven’t/aren’t paying me to write that.) US LawShield is another great company as is US Concealed Carry Association (ditto on the disclosure for those companies).

There are other options out there, too. Pick the one that best suits your needs and sign up today. They’ll pay for top shelf legal defense should you find yourself righteously using force in self-defense.

 

Salam Fatohi is the Director of Research for the National Shooting Sports Foundation.