In a press conference addressing the riots, Rawlings-Blake stated, "It’s a very delicate balancing act. Because while we try to make sure that they were protected from the cars and other things that were going on, we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well. And we worked very hard to keep that balance and to put ourselves in the best position to de-escalate". The phrase "we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well" was taken out of context by some conservative-leaning news sources to imply that the mayor was giving permission to protestors to destroy property. Some conservative outlets disagreed with that interpretation, however, such as "Breitbart News" contributor John Sexton, who wrote, "when you look at the full context, it’s clear the Mayor meant something different (though it’s also true she didn’t say it very clearly)".