Protests staged across the country over the weekend — coordinated with similarly scripted anti-President Trump rallies and marches — proceeded mostly without serious disruptions of community life.

In part, we can thank the majority of participants, who were responsible and peaceful in espousing their views. But we also owe thanks to laudable work by law enforcement, who vigilantly and proactively kept the events between the lines.

When some protesters did get out of line and attempted reckless behavior — egged on by agitators whose specialty is turning demonstrations into riots — police acted swiftly and shut them down. Kudos to the cops all the more.

There were some arrests and clashes over the weekend in various cities as protesters threw rocks and other objects at officers or tried to shut down main thoroughfares. Police were forced to use tear gas in Los Angeles and Portland and there were clashes with authorities in Denver.

The last thing the country needed, of course, was a repeat of the summer 2020 riots in which political radicals who took to the streets destroyed property and blocked streets and highways. This time, police — and for the most part, protesters — kept the peace as they should, underscoring how upholding the rule of law ensures a forum for the free exchange of ideas without an exchange of rocks, bottles or worse.

That’s the good news that emerged from this latest round of activism.

There also was some bad news, however. Political hierarchies in several cities decided to hobble their cops ahead of time — in advance of any encounters with demonstrators. Which means the commendable job police did reining in the rabble was carried out despite entering the fray with one hand cuffed behind their backs.

In Denver, for instance, the police department on Friday publicly offered assurances to illegal immigrants they wouldn’t be in harm’s way as police deployed amid the anticipated protests against the federal crackdown on illegal immigration.

A “know before you go” advisory issued to the public on the coming protests pointed out the city has “continued to ensure that newcomer families and individuals who want to make Denver their home can find the resources and the assistance they need to successfully do so.”

While the police would be on hand “to protect the community and their right to peacefully protest,” the advisory made clear the police department, “does not cooperate with ICE on federal civil immigration enforcement.”

“Denver Police do not call on ICE or any federal enforcement to support with protests,” the statement noted pointedly.

Granted, it comes as little more than a political pronouncement by this point in the ongoing illegal immigration debate. Just another thumb in the eye aimed at the Trump administration — i.e., a restatement of the obvious.

Democratic mayors, after all, have turned cities into sanctuaries for illegal immigration, using a collective billions in tax dollars to cover immigrants’ room, board and medical care — and in some cases cutting basic public services to pay for it. Meanwhile, the cities’ police have been constrained for several years now from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

So, illegal immigrants need not fear law enforcers in liberal-run cities like Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston and Washington, D.C. Got it.

Still, when staring down demonstrators — some of whom are itching for violent conflict — is there really any need to remind them many elected leaders already have surrendered?

— From Tribune News Services