If you were like me, your first though on seeing shots of the limo torched during the anti-Trump inauguration protests was: Somebody uses that limousine to earn a living.
The unfortunate somebody turns out to be Muhammad Ashraf. Mr. Ashraf, owner of Nationwide Chauffeur Services, was interviewed by Red Alert Politics, a sister publication of the DC Examiner.
In an exclusive interview with Red Alert Politics, Ashraf said he wasn’t a supporter of Donald Trump during his campaign, but Friday’s protests were completely counter-productive.
“I have a different point of view,” Ashraf told Red Alert. “I did not agree with many of the things he said, but that still does not give me the right to go and affect someone’s livelihood.”
Ashraf noted that the Women’s March on Washington and in other cities around the country was a model for how to peacefully protest.
“I really don’t think we need to take this [violent] route.”
Ashraf’s employee, Luis Villarroel, 58, was dropping a client off at their destination when things turned ugly. Protesters smashed doors and windows in the vicinity, but then turned their attention to Villarroel and the limo. People began pounding on the car and started throwing stones and bricks in his direction. The driver ended up going to the hospital for cuts on his hands and arms from glass being shattered by thrown projectiles.
Dare to be bourgeois and dare to be outraged about this.