Left-wing Chicago mayor says law-abiding gun owners shouldn't use guns for self-defense amid rioting: 'If there's a problem, call 911'

Chicago's far-left Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot was asked earlier this week for her reaction to residents "taking matters into their own hands" in order to "protect their communities" amid the rioting over George Floyd's death.

What did she say?

"Obviously we're aware of the fact that Illinois is a concealed carry state, and that many people have weapons at their disposal in their homes and their businesses," Lightfoot responded. "Do not take matters into your own hands. Call the police."

She added that "tragedy" happens when people pick up guns as if they were police officers — and oddly cited the Ahmaud Arbery killing in Georgia, which had nothing to with self-defense against attackers and rioters.

"Do not pick up arms and try to be the police. If there's a problem, call 911. We will respond," Lightfoot said before adding, "I urge people to show strength and do not take matters into your own hands."

And how's that 'call 911' thing working out?

Chicago's 911 center received 65,000 calls in one 24-hour period over the weekend — 50,000 more than normal, Lightfoot said Monday, according to WTTW-TV.

About 10,000 of those calls were for looting alone, the mayor added to the station, noting that operators fielded over 2,000 calls in just 30 minutes at one point.

"The police department was responding as best they could," Lightfoot said, WTTW reported. "The challenge was, it was everywhere. Everywhere. The violence and looting spread like a wildfire."

Lightfoot on people defending themselves w/firearms during riotsyoutu.be

Then there were the fires — and the 1,000-plus arrests

In about one 24-hour period last weekend, there were over 80 fires in Chicago, dwarfing the 36 fires in the city the night after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, WBBM-TV reported.

There were just over 1,000 arrests last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday — 832 for disorderly conduct — and only a fraction of the arrests were presented by police to the Cook County state's attorney for possible serious felony charges, WLS-TV reported.

What else has Lightfoot been saying and doing?

Lightfoot has emerged as a highly controversial national figure after only a short period of time in office — particularly after the coronavirus onset — and she's uttered some doozies.

You may recall last Friday she infamously directed an expletive — well, two letters anyway — at President Donald Trump for calling Minneapolis rioters "THUGS" and tweeting "when the looting starts, the shooting starts."

"Donald Trump's comment last night was profoundly dangerous," Lightfoot said, adding that the president "wants to show failures on the part of Democratic local leaders, to throw red meat to his base. His goal is to polarize, to destabilize local government, and inflame racist urges. And we can absolutely not let him prevail. And I will code what I really want to say to Donald Trump. It's two words. It begins with F, and it ends with U."

Chicago Mayor Lashes Out At Trump For Response to Minneapolis With Two Words: “F — U"youtu.be

Is there more? Oh, yes, much more

A Chicago pastor claimed Lightfoot sent armed police in unmarked cars to bang on his church doors one Sunday late last month over coronavirus stay-at-home crackdowns, saying it was "like the Soviet-styled KGB."

Of those crackdowns she also said, "We will shut you down, we will cite you, and if we need to, we will arrest you, and we will take you to jail."

Lightfoot also got testy in April after being called out for getting herself a haircut when she banned for everybody else, justifying it by saying, "I'm the public face of this city."

(H/T: Blue Lives Matter)