I don't believe there is this large "criminal apologist" political force as you say there is. On the example you gave of a decision to hold back police force at

I don't believe there is this large "criminal apologist" political force as you say there is. On the example you gave of a decision to hold back police force at an Antifa counterprotest, the police chief gave this explanation: "If police had deployed tear gas, they could have dispersed the black bloc, but they also would have gassed hundreds of peaceful protesters – including seniors and children – who had marched over from a “Say No to Hate” rally at nearby Ohlone Park." So they were concerned about injuring civilians, and moved in after all the non-criminals fleed, arresting 13 people. But even if there was this political motive to allow leftists to break laws with impunity, that has nothing to do with this story. This story is about run-of-the-mill robberies. Antifa doesn't run around robbing random people, and I don't think you'll find any influential bay-area politicians arguing against arresting people for robbery.