What was planned to be a peaceful demonstration turned tragic last night when demonstrators gave way to rioters burning down the historic Cinniapolis Performing Arts Theatre at The Great Eastern Hotel. The Freedom Forever Rally, organized and funded by Chess Murphy, took place in the The Great Eastern Hotel courtyard in front of the Cinniapolis Performing Arts Theatre. Dozens of attendees gathered near the stage anxiously awaiting Mr. Murphy’s address. He took the stage to a standing ovation as the newly minted icon and mouthpiece of the disenchanted working class.

Mr. Murphy welcomed the crowd and thanked them for their attendance before launching into aggressive, combative rhetoric directed at Mayor Gondola’s State of the City (SOTC) address. He reminded the crowd of ‘their victory’ last year successfully opening up Cinniapolis in response to the government re-implementing restrictive measures to prevent the spread of the virus. He promised this demonstration would accomplish the same result – a public refusal to accept this administration’s tyrannical governing. Mr. Murphy focused on the two major takeaways from Mayor Gondola’s address; rising crime and climate change. “We, the good, are at war with them, the evil. The Gondola family has partnered with criminals for decades in order to maintain their grip on Cinniapolis. The good people of Cinniapolis will no longer stand for this treatment under the boyking’s watch,” said Mr. Murphy, using the derogatory nickname for Mayor Gondola. The crowd applauded and roared when he introduced the first guest speaker, Waldo Penney.

Mr. Penney targeted the rising crime in Cinniapolis. “Thieves are stealing eye glasses,” he said, referencing a recent break-in at Martha’s EyeCare. “That’s what this city has descended into, a minority of good, honest hard-working citizens vs. evil addicted criminals and their elite handlers,” said Mr. Penney, parroting a favorite talking point from Mr. Murphy regarding criminals being so addicted to theft that they’ll steal anything not nailed to the ground. “We must meet these thugs in their arena, catch them and reform them,” Mr. Penney said. He insinuated reforming criminals physically rather than mentally, “Medieval theft never ran rampant because thieves had their hands chopped off,” he said to raucous applause and a brief chant of “off with their hands”. The audience’s thirst for vengeance was now clear as Mr. Penney introduced the next speaker, Gregory Dragg.

Mr. Dragg’s focus was on Mayor Gondola’s proposed restrictive policies being touted as the total solution to fight climate change. “First of all, you can’t fight climate, ok. It’s not as if you can punch a climate in the mouth, ok,” he said. “The boyking mayor wants to control your movements, control your diet, control your business, control your farm, control your lights, he wants complete and total authority over every single aspect of your life,” said Mr. Dragg. The crowd hissed in disapproval as Mr. Dragg summarized Mayor Gondola’s measures to limit the effects of climate change on Cinniapolis. Mr. Dragg continued whipping up the crowd into a fervor as he expressed his personal worry about the red meat restrictions with a raised voice, “This is very personal for me as a butcher and meat supplier. My livelihood is at stake and I’m going to fight until the death to preserve my way of life against the tyrannical boyking’s total authority. If he turns out my lights, then I’ll turn out his lights,” he said, in reference to potential enforced rolling blackouts to conserve energy. The crowd cheered wildy after this statement and chanted “turn out his lights”. Mr. Murphy returned to the stage to rowdy applause.

Mr. Murphy noted how the crowd had grew in such a short time, “I’m humbled by this support. The crowd has nearly tripled since this rally started. It just goes to show how fed up we are with this administration. We need a special election and we need it now. It’s no longer a request, it’s a demand from the people. The boyking gifted our city to criminals and his family’s corporate overlords appointing himself overseer of his imagined kingdom. Cinniapolis is not a kingdom and you are not his subjects. What these new tyrannical policies represent is a spark for each of you. Use that spark as we have today to come together and form a flame. When we have formed a flame, we will continue to assemble, unite and grow into a fiery blaze burning the Gondola kingdom to the ground. Freedom forever,” he said, ending the rally to applause and shouts of “freedom forever” in support of Mr. Murphy.

As the speakers left the stage and the event area, the crowd continued to grow in size and linger in the courtyard, resembling a tailgate party, drinking beer and grilling meat. The CSD officers assigned to the event security detail communicated through a megaphone alerting the crowd that the permit had expired and asked them to vacate the courtyard. The crowd became unruly hurling insults and objects at the officers. One officer was hit in the face with a thrown raw steak. Some even spat on officers as they stood between the crowd and the Performing Arts Theatre. CSD officers again urged the seething crowd to go home. Then, from the back of the crowd, a firework was launched towards the line of CSD officers. Quickly, another firework was launched from a different section of the crowd prompting the officers to draw their tasers and approach the crowd. The CSD officers attempt to push the crowd back was an exercise in futility. The unit of 15 officers was easily outnumbered by the size of the mob, at least 10 to 1.

As the officers approached, more fireworks were sent flying in their direction. The unhinged mob chanted “freedom forever” and rushed the officers, easily overpowering them. After overwhelming the officers, it seemed as if the tension had subsided and the party-like tailgate atmosphere briefly took over again. But, that all changed the instant several additional units from the CSD arrived. The officers exited their vehicles dressed in riot gear firing teargas and rubber bullets into the crowd, chasing them around the courtyard. Other officers attempted to detain members of the crowd but were assaulted with bottles as the mob helped anyone detained to escape. As the micro-battles between citizens and the CSD raged in the courtyard, fireworks continued to be lobbed at CSD officers in the distance who were attempting to set up a perimeter around the riot.

What happened next would be one of the saddest moments in recent Cinniapolis history. The mob and the CSD officers battled each other with fists, feet, and firepower in what looked less like a riot and more like a war scene. The trademark black SUVs of the Holy Sheriff Legion sped onto the courtyard and HSL agents fired non-lethal shock rounds at anyone not in a CSD uniform. As members of the mob saw HSL agents incapacitating rioters with shock rounds, they fled in all directions. However, an emboldened segment of the mob continued to shoot fireworks at CSD officers and HSL agents. As officers attempted to subdue this violent group, they were met with mini-champagne bottles re-purposed as molotov cocktails. Little fires now dotted the courtyard. CSD officers and HSL agents scrambled between detaining rioters and stomping out the fires. Then, instantaneously, the action ceased after the combatants saw the blaze that had overtaken the Cinniapolis Performance Theatre. Law enforcement rushed to the theatre and rioters ran in all directions away from the scene.

Several CFPS fire brigades arrived on the scene but were unable to put the fire. Flames engulfed the walls and roof. The brigades managed to contain the blaze from spreading to other wings of The Great Eastern Hotel but the theatre was unable to be saved. The raging fire burned bright through the night before eventually settling into a smolder as the sun rose.

The evening started with a raucous resistance to Mayor Gondola’s proposed agenda for the upcoming year. But, it ended with bloodied law enforcement, sections of singed sod, and a lost landmark. How or who set fire to this historic Cinniapolis landmark is top of mind but it may have to take a backseat to the larger confrontation that preceded it. Cinniapolis is a divided city with an expanding disdain for its government. Perhaps, this was an isolated incident. But, it looked like the dawn of a popular uprising against the government of Cinniapolis.