Baltimore Mayor: We Gave Rioters ‘Space to Destroy’

Not News: Baltimore Mayor Says 'Protesters' Who Wish to Can Have 'Space' to 'Destroy (NewsBusters)

At a Sunday press conference, Baltimore's Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake told reporters that she and the law enforcement in the city she runs have a de facto responsibility, in the name of "balance," to give "space" to "destroy" to "protesters" who have such a desire.

This obviously newsworthy pull quote condoning property destruction is not present in coverage at the Associated Press's main national site, in several stories where her comment could have been mentioned at the wire service's "Big Story" site, or in two additional stories at the New York Times containing Sheryl Gay Stolberg's byline. Video and a transcript follow the jump.