Luther on Political Riots
January 8, 2021
Gene Veith
Five people dead. Fourteen police officers injured, including one who was killed. Pipe bombs. Molotov cocktails. The nation’s Capitol building assaulted, vandalized, and pillaged. American flags torn down and replaced by Trump flags.
During the War of 1812, British troops looted and burned the Capitol building. But ever since then, the Capitol has stood through wars and crises as one of the most august symbols of America and of democracy. Now the Capitol has been violated once again. This time by Americans. By people who call themselves conservatives!
Martin Luther supported the peasants in their grievances against their feudal lords. But when their protests degenerated into violent riots and the protesters turned into “robbing and murderous hordes”–killing priests, landowners, and fellow peasants who would not go along with them; burning down monasteries and castles; looting shops and villages–Luth