Riots Break Out in Stockholm Following Statement from President Trump

Just two days after President Trump made a statement about what happened “last night in Sweden,” riots break out.

Firefighters+in+Stockholm%2C+Sweden+look+upon+the+carcasses+of+two+vehicles+that+were+burned+while+riots+raged+on+Sunday%2C+Feb.+20.

Firefighters in Stockholm, Sweden look upon the carcasses of two vehicles that were burned while riots raged on Sunday, Feb. 20.

At a campaign-style rally hosted by President Donald Trump on Friday, Feb. 17, he made an unproven statement that Swedish immigrants were responsible for a recent wave of violence throughout the country. The statement revolved around Sweden’s capital city, Stockholm.

“We’ve got to keep our country safe,” Trump said at his rally in Melbourne, Florida. “You look at what’s happening in Germany, you look at what’s happening last night in Sweden. Sweden, who would believe this?”

Many were confused as nothing had happened in Sweden the night before. News publications sent reporters to the Scandinavian country to gauge response to Trump’s bold, unfounded claim. The President defended his statement via Twitter, stating that he had seen a report on Fox News about immigrant-related crime from the night before.

While no actual events occurred in Sweden the night before Trump’s comments, riots broke out in a mostly immigrant neighborhood, Rinkeby, on Stockholm’s north side during the night of Feb. 20 and continued into the early morning of Feb. 21. Rinkeby has previously seen riots in 2011 and 2013.

Over the course of a few hours, the crowd burned vehicles, threw rocks at police and vandalized local businesses, causing mass panic and police intervention.

These riots had nothing to do with President Trump’s comments, but some say that these riots were a little bit too convenient for the Commander-in-Chief.

“This event was surprisingly convenient seeing as though Trump had mentioned violence two days before,” junior Peter Gross said. “Not saying that he had any ties to it or perpetuated it in any way, but this whole situation is a bit out of the ordinary.”