To the editor:

In my June 26 letter, I agreed with U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who in his June 3 New York Times essay, “Send in the Troops,” contended America’s military should help stop the violence, vandalism and looting that are plunging many American cities into anarchy, when local or state governments are unable or unwilling to stop the mayhem. I also opined that the NYT’s explanations for asserting Cotton’s essay shouldn’t have been published were flimsy and unpersuasive.

Since then, the mayhem described by Cotton has intensified, mostly in cities whose mayors have refused President Donald Trump’s offer to deploy the National Guard to restore law and order that they are unable or unwilling to accomplish themselves. Trump should “send in the troops” to those cities because the lawlessness in their streets has reached insurrection proportions. As Cotton wrote in his essay, “these rioters, if not subdued, not only will destroy the livelihoods of law-abiding citizens, but will also take more innocent lives.”

Joel Freedman

Canandiagua