Mediaboss Marketing

Tom Kertscher| PolitiFact.com

This piece was originally published on PolitiFact.com on August 7, 2020

Facebook posts: Black Lives Matter "injures 1000 police officers kills 36 people and does $8 billion in damage."

PolitiFacts ruling: False

Heres why: Some Facebook commenters focused on professional sports leagues support of Black Lives Matter when they read this Facebook post:

"BLM injures 1000 police officers kills 36 people and does $8 billion in damage and gets celebrated by pro sports?"

We focused on the rest, and found that the biggest problem with the post, leaving aside the numbers claimed, is the lack of proof that Black Lives Matter caused the violence that is claimed.

The post was flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

The numbers claimed

The latest flareup of protests against police brutality began May 26 in Minneapolis, where the previous day, George Floyd, a Black man, died after a white police officer kneeled on his neck. As we reported two weeks after the protests began, a review of demonstrations in five major cities found that all of the protests started with violence, but then became largely peaceful.

As for the numbers claimed in the post, the U.S. Justice Department told us it does not have figures on officer injuries or property damage resulting from civil disturbances, and the FBI said it had no comment. There are scattered news reports that dont entirely back up each part of the claim, and we found no official figures.

Officers injured: The New York Post reported on June 8, citing the U.S. Justice Department, that more than 700 law enforcement officers were injured on the job during nationwide protests over Floyds death.

People killed: In early June, news accounts reported the number of people killed during the Floyd protests at roughly a dozen, or as many as 19. The victims include a 77-year-old man who was a retired St. Louis police captain and a 22-year-old woman from Davenport, Iowa.

Damage caused: In late June, Fox News reported that according to insurance experts and city officials, the Floyd protests could eclipse the 1992 Los Angeles riots to become the most expensive civil disturbance in U.S. history. The 1992 riots, which followed the acquittal of four police officers in the beating of Rodney King, cost $1.4 billion in 2020 dollars, according to the report, which did not give a specific damage estimate for the Floyd protests. A spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute told Scripps National News that "most likely" the Floyd protest "would lead to higher losses," but did not provide an estimate either.

Black Lives Matter didnt respond to our requests for comment.

Difficult to flatly blame BLM

There is a Black Lives Matter national organization, which says it has more than a dozen U.S. chapters, along with countless numbers of individuals who support the organization.

As the New York Times reported July 3, four recent polls "suggest that about 15 million to 26 million people in the United States have participated in demonstrations over the death of George Floyd and others in recent weeks. These figures would make the recent protests the largest movement in the countrys history, according to interviews with scholars and crowd-counting experts."

There are also people who have participated in demonstrations, which have occurred in hundreds of cities, who may have no allegiance to Black Lives Matter, or may even oppose it, and have rioted or committed other acts of violence making it even more difficult to determine how a violent incident occurred.

Whats more, news coverage of the protests have also included numerous reports that identify law enforcement officers as causing injury to civilians.

In short, there isnt evidence to back the numbers in the claim or to blame Black Lives Matter for each part of the claim.

Our rating is False.

PolitiFact Texas is a partnership of the Austin American-Statesman, Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News to help you find the truth in Texas politics.

Facebook, post (archived here), July 25, 2020

Email, Justice Department spokeswoman Lauren Lambert, Aug. 4, 2020

PolitiFact, "Post inflates number of police killed in connection to protests," June 10, 2020

New York Times, "Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History," July 3, 2020

New York Post, "More than 700 officers injured in George Floyd protests across US," June 8, 2020

Associated Press, "Retired officer, ex-college athlete among victims of unrest," June 2, 2020

Forbes, "14 Days Of Protests, 19 Dead," June 8, 2020

Fox News, "Deadly unrest: Here are the people who have died amid George Floyd protests across US," June 8, 2020

Fox News, "George Floyd protests could be most expensive civil disturbance in US history, experts say," June 29, 2020

USA Today, "Fact check: More Black people died in 2019 police shootings than in George Floyd protests," June 18, 2020

YouTube, Scripps National News story, June 12, 2020

Email, Manali Basu, public affairs specialist, FBI, Aug. 5, 2020

Read more here:
Fact-checking claim about deaths, damage from Black Lives ...

In the wake of police violence against George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake and countless other Black men and women, the Black Lives Matter movement once again has the national spotlight. But with so much confusion and disinformation plaguing the conversation, not everyone understands what BLM is or how it works.

At best, myths about Black Lives Matter prevent people from giving their support. At worst, these myths actively detract from the movement and the anti-racism work its members have been doing.

What some people might call myths, I dont see them as myths I see them as tools by other groups used to do harm, stop change and maintain the status quo, said Richard M. Cooper, a clinical assistant professor at Widener University whose work centers on race and social justice issues.

In other words, myths dont just fall from the sky. Theyre created. They are a tool to provide misinformation, to incite fear, to get people to misunderstand an issue so that ...we dont have to promote structural change, Cooper said.

With that said, heres a look at the most harmful untruths surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement that need to end.

1. Its new.

The phrase Black lives matter wasnt really part of the modern conversation until the killing of Trayvon Martin, when writer and activist Alicia Garza included the phrase in a Facebook post and it was amplified by others. But the idea has been fought for over the past several hundred years.

Its really a continuation of the legacy of fighting for civil rights and social justice by people of color, particularly Black people.... It just happens to be called Black Lives Matter now, Cooper said.

He added that the only thing thats really changed is the access activists have to platforms, particularly online, and the speed with which people can get that information. But we are still talking about an ethnic group of people who have had to constantly and consistently fight for social agency and human rights in a society that continues to find ways to deny them of such, Cooper said.

2. Its disorganized.

There are three well-known founders of the Black Lives Matter organization, including Garza, but the general movement by that same name is a decentralized, grassroots effort that spans regions, demographics and mediums. For that reason, some critics say that it lacks leadership or a clear agenda. However, Cooper said this is largely a generational misunderstanding.

When it comes to the fight for civil rights, older generations were accustomed to seeing it unfold a certain way: A national or regional leader would serve as the spokesperson, organizing protests, sit-ins and other methods of demonstration, and lead the charge for change.

Black Lives Matter, on the other hand, exists in pockets across the country (and the globe). Theres no right way to get the message across, and members from hyperlocal chapters and other organizations rely on a variety of methods, including sustained protesting, social media campaigns, art and poetry.

SETH HERALD via Getty Images

According to Cooper, the criticism shows a lack of understanding about the particular features of the organizers and their strategies. They have been very smart and organic, Cooper said.

For an outsider, it might seem disorganized. But like demonstrations of the past, such as the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott in the 1950s, many strategic choices have been made that people of color dont get enough credit for, Cooper said. It shows a level of sophistication, actually, and an understanding of nuances and regional differences that this group has organized far better than past movements.

3. Its pro-violence.

About 93% of the 10,600-plus racial justice protests in the U.S. this summer have been peaceful. Those that did become violent involved aggression by police or by counterprotesters from extremist groups, researchers noted. But one-off instances of violence, looting and aggressive demonstrators have been conflated to suggest the Black Lives Matter movement employs and condones violence.

Its absurd because its the thing were protesting against, said Michelle Saahene, co-founder of the activist group From Privilege to Progress. People need to be able to differentiate between protesters and rioters, or protesters and opportunists.

The unfortunate truth is that there will always be outliers who look for opportunities to cause chaos or harm during tense times. Looting and riots also occur because of hurricanes, sporting events and for many other terrible reasons. That doesnt excuse the violence surrounding Black Lives Matter protests, by any means. But it is important to understand that the actions of these individuals are not aligned with the mission of the movement.

And sometimes the violence is strategic. The riots that took place in Minneapolis following the police killing of George Floyd, for example, were stoked by a white supremacist. Two people were killed and a medic was wounded by a white teenager with a semiautomatic rifle at a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last month.

Because theres so much anti-Blackness, and white supremacy wants to be protected at all costs, people go out of their way to make it look like this movement is a violent movement, Saahene said. People really need to just think a little bit deeper... about what Black Lives Matter actually stands for and what theyre fighting against. Violence just doesnt make any sense.

4. Its anti-police.

Law enforcements track record with Black Americans is troubling, to say the least. Not only are Black men and women disproportionately stopped, arrested and killed by police, many of these instances of violence occur following 911 calls for fairly routine issues.

But the Black Lives Matter movement is not about retaliation or eliminating police. Rather, its about examining the structure of law enforcement and how it can better serve communities, especially Black and brown ones.

Defunding the police is a big part of that goal. And that idea is scary to a lot of people, often because they dont understand what it means. Defunding isnt about abolishing law enforcement. Its to look at how police departments have been funded to do things that they shouldnt necessarily have to do anyway and dont necessarily do well, that would be better met by other groups whove been trained differently and provided better resources, Cooper said.

For example, domestic disturbances or mental health crises could be responded to by social workers or medical professionals rather than armed police officers. If you come to a situation with a weapon, there is a possibility, even with a particular police officer who may be well-intentioned, for something to escalate if for no other reason than youre coming with a gun, Cooper said. The goal would be to deescalate these types of situations without the need for force and hopefully save lives in the process.

5. Its racist.

The phrase Black lives matter is not meant to be divisive. And yet it ruffles some (white) peoples feathers. Some even go so far as to claim that prioritizing Black lives is a form of reverse racism (which, by the way, is not a thing).

Because our lives are treated as if they dont matter, we have to specifically say that they do, Saahene said. Its just a phrase to get people to understand that because you have black skin does not mean that you should be treated any differently and certainly doesnt mean that your life should be cut short.

Were not saying Black lives matter more, were saying they matter too, added Melissa DePino, who co-founded From Privilege to Progress alongside Saahene. Its not about giving someone more and someone else less. Its about creating a situation in which everybody has the same privileges.

6. Its a front for Democratic funding.

Saahene said that there is a misconception that the Black Lives Matter movement arose for the purpose of gaining political control.

One of the biggest contributors to this idea is likely a now-deleted Facebook post that claimed donations to Black Lives Matter were being funneled to a Democrat Super PAC.

The claims were based on a video circulated on social media that showed that attempts to make donations on the Black Lives Matter website redirected users to a website called ActBlue. The video then showed a page on OpenSecrets.org that tracked how ActBlue spends its money, highlighting several multimillion-dollar contributions to campaigns for Democratic presidential candidates such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Vice President Joe Biden.

What is misunderstood in this video and the subsequent Facebook post is that ActBlue is simply a donation processing platform. Though it is popular among Democratic politicians and progressive nonprofits, it acts similarly to PayPal or other online payment systems. ActBlue doesnt actually pocket any of the donations or decide how theyre allocated. A donation to Black Lives Matter goes to Black Lives Matter.

Though members of the movement do seek to change many of the laws and policies that harm Black people, Saahene said, its not a political group. Theyre activists like me.

7. Its on Black BLM supporters to fix racism.

Though it can be tempting for white people to lean on Black friends and colleagues to educate them about racism and point out where its happening, the truth is that its not their job to fix racism. Theres enough emotional labor to dealing with racism in everyday life; the last thing white allies need to do is add to that burden.

When youre doing anti-racism work, you cant always have the victims doing the work, Cooper said. Its those who have the advantages, structurally and historically, who need to be rolling up their sleeves.

DePino agreed that racism is not a Black problem and its up to white people to learn history, acknowledge and understand their biases, and figure out how to stop causing harm, even if its unintentional. Thats the work that we have to do. And we cant just pay attention when someone gets murdered. We have to pay attention all the time and integrate it into our everyday life.

Link:
7 Myths About Black Lives Matter That People Need To Stop ...

Fiery exchanges took place when House lawmakers convened Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump for a historic second time, just one week after a mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol grounds. As Democrats railed against the insurrectionists, some Republicans repeatedly drew comparisons between last summer's Black Lives Matter protests and the Capitol siege of Jan. 6.

In this combination of photos, on June 7, 2020, protesters participating in a Black Lives Matter rally, left, march to downtown Pittsburgh to protest the death of George Floyd and people listen as President Donald Trump speaks during a rally Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington.

Comparisons between Black Lives Matter and what happened on Capitol Hill are false equivalencies, said several experts and advocates who spoke with ABC News.

'They lit actual flames!'

During Wednesday's hearing, several Congress members made impassioned cases for and against impeaching President Trump. During these speeches, some lawmakers denounced what they called the white supremacy among the Capitol rioters, while others accused Democrats of hypocrisy by supporting Black Lives Matter protests but condemning Trump supporters.

"If we fail to remove a White supremacist president who incited a white supremacist insurrection, it's communities like Missouri's first district that suffer the most," said Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri during her speech in support of impeachment. "The 117th Congress must understand that we have a mandate to legislate in defense of Black lives, the first step in that process is to root out white supremacy starting with impeaching the White supremacist in chief."

Rep. Bush made history as the first Black Congresswoman to be elected in the state. Missouris first district has a majority Black population and usually leans blue, according to an election website.

Fires burn around downtown during a second night of protests after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisc., Aug 24, 2020.

In her speech during the hearing, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., condemned the president for "radicalizing his supporters" and "inciting them to willingly join with White supremacists, Neo-Nazis and para-military extremists in a siege of the United States Capitol building."

In a video statement released following the vote, the president condemned last week's violence, but did not take responsibility for his role in the events. In the past, the president has denied accusations of racism. During the final presidential debate on Oct. 22, when moderator Kristen Welker asked the president about racial strife and hate in America, he answered by saying he is the "least racist person in this room."

Instead of rebuking the president for any role in inciting the riot, some Republicans drew comparisons between the Capitol siege and the Black Lives Matter protests that swept across the nation last year following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and several victims of police brutality.

Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida defended Trump, saying "some have cited the metaphor that the president lit the flames... Well, they lit actual flames!" accusing Democrats of enabling civil unrest that ensued in some cities during the BLM protests.

The unrest in some cities after some Black Lives Matter protests included vandalism and looting; however, many of these events were rooted in confrontations with police after peaceful protesters left. The vast majority of demonstrations were peaceful and leading BLM activists repeatedly distanced themselves from agent provocateurs and instigators.

BLM and the failed Capitol insurrection cannot be compared, according to Cynthia Miller-Idriss, professor of education and sociology at American University and author of "Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right."

"I don't see a parallel between the two," said Miller-Idriss. "I think making a connection that there was actually incitement of violence or that there's any equivalence in the violence itself, is just absurd."

What happened at the Capitol, you can't call that a protest anymore, said Miller-Idriss. That was a riot, it was sedition, it was an insurrection, a siege...it was a domestic terrorist attack.

Stark differences have been pointed out between the protests for racial justice and the riot stoked by unfounded claims of a stolen presidential election.

2 sets of rules?

The majority white "Stop the Steal" mob that stormed the nation's Capitol building was a mix of several right-wing extremist groups, according to Larry Rosenthal, chair and lead researcher of the Berkeley Center for Right-Wing Studies.

Some were members of far-right armed militias. Others were right-wing populists, whom he described as "rally-goers" who are "fanatical about Donald Trump and his presidency."

Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump climb a wall during a protest against the certification of the 2020 presidential election results by the Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.

Rosenthal also described two subsets within the extremist groups. One, is comprised of anti-government militias, whom he referred to as "people who don't recognize the legitimacy" of government on both state and local levels and often deem themselves "sovereign citizens." The other includes white nationalists, those he said are "electrified and mobilize[d] going on the streets to stand up to Black Lives Matter and the fantasy of Antifa".

"Donald Trump asserts his role as the leader of the right-wing militias," said Rosenthal. "Those people who call themselves 'patriots,' they have lived with the idea of a spark that would lead to the civil war ... it's been in their largely fantasy world for four decades. And suddenly, there is this summons from the president of the United States."

There was a "stark difference" in the makeup of the Black Lives Matter protests and the Capitol riots, according to professor Mark Anthony Neal, chair of the Department of African and African American Studies at Duke University.

Neal described the Black Lives Matter protests last year as "a multi-racial social justice movement, much like the civil rights movement in the 1960s."

"Many people of color, Black folks, are killed doing mundane things just literally sleeping in their home, walking down the block," Neal told ABC News. "What Black Lives Matter was trying to bring to the forefront was the ways in which Black and people of color are always over-policed."

Non-violent protesters during the summer faced brute force from federal officers, but rioters were met with minimal federal response.

"[Rioters] acted with an extraordinary sense of impunity," said Rosenthal. "Like nothing was going to happen to them."

Federal authorities launched an active investigation into the attack on the Capitol and there are over 275 open investigations, Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin told reporters on a conference call Friday. As of 8 a.m. Friday morning, the Department of Justice opened 98 criminal cases -- a majority of which are federal felony cases, Sherwin said.

Protesters gather at a rally for slain teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., March 22, 2012.

Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, said the double standard in policing is "a long-standing issue of both covert and overt racism and how law enforcement reacts to protest. When Black people are protesting ... there's an over-militarization of communities. "

"It was as though two sets of rules apply," Morial said. "One set for these [pro-Trump] protesters and another set for not just Black Lives Matter but also civil rights protests."

Motivation behind the movements

Rioters that led the insurrection on the Capitol were a mix of "far-right extremists" and self-proclaimed patriots who believe they were called to defend democracy, according to Miller-Idriss. She described how some were "intentional in their planning" and arrived "tactically prepared to storm the Capitol" carrying weapons, cuffs and mace.

These far-right extremist groups were united by "a commitment to a tremendous set of disinformation about the election" citing unfounded claims of massive voter fraud and an illegitimate election, Miller-Idriss said.

President-elect Joe Biden won the election by more than 70 electoral votes. His victory was certified when Congress convened to ratify the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6. However, weeks after the election, Trump continuously pushed false claims and baseless theories of a rigged election, leading some to argue that it incited his followers and contributed to the siege of the Capitol.

In this combination of photos, demonstrators, left, protest June 4, 2020, in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, over the death of George Floyd and on Jan. 6, 2021, supporters of President Donald Trump rally at same location.

The rioters also displayed symbols of white supremacist extremism including a noose stationed across the Capitol which, according to Miller-Idriss, "symbolizes the horrific history of lynching," but also refers to a white supremacy code that signals a "day of reckoning when traitors will be hung in the streets."

These groups were motivated by a sense of threat, Miller-Idriss said -- a "precarity" or "fear of something being taken away" they believed they deserve is what signaled the attacks on the Capitol, which she said is different from disenfranchisement felt by those supporting Black Lives Matter.

The Black Lives Matter movement was founded in 2013 after the verdict in the murder trial for the killing of Trayvon Martin, a Black teenager who was killed while walking home in Florida.

Amid a racial reckoning in 2020, BLM protests across the country fought against racial injustice, police brutality and advocated for numerous Black Americans that had been violently killed.

Neil said it's important to make the distinction between the Black Lives Matter movement and the Capitol siege.

"One movement, in the case of Black Lives Matter, is really a critique, an attempt to undermine white supremacy. In the latter case, what happened at the Capitol in January was an attempt to buttress white supremacy."

ABC News' Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.

More:
False equivalency between Black Lives Matter and Capitol siege: Experts, advocates - ABC News

In Washington, D.C., members of a pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol and killed a police officer are so far being charged mainly with disorderly conduct and unlawful entry. The man photographed with his feet on Speaker Nancy Pelosis desk faces three charges that carry a maximum penalty of one year in prison. After the violent siege, some members of the mob simply returned to their hotel.

Many were quick to point out an apparent double standard when compared to the way police in D.C. treated Black Lives Matter protesters over the summerlike when they tear gassed protesters to clear the way for a Trump photo op, or when row upon row of National Guard troops stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in anticipation of the sixth day of George Floyd protests. A similar double standard is now on display in Arizona.

In Maricopa County, 15 people who attended a Black Lives Matter protest where traffic cones were knocked down are being charged with rioting, aggravated assault, and assisting in a criminal street gang, all serious felonies that could land them in prison for decades. The gang charges are based only on the fact that the group carried umbrellas, wore black, and used the phrase all cops are bastards. The 15 Black Lives Matter protesters were forcibly arrested on the night of the protest. One was shot with pepper bullets; another spent two weeks in jail.

The 15 protesters are facing serious consequences. They now have an arrest for serious felonies on their records. Theyre living with the specter of prison hanging over them. Some are spending money on lawyers to fight the charges. They could spend years in prison and could suffer all the collateral consequences of having a criminal record, which makes it harder to obtain jobs, housing, and some government assistance. And if convicted of a felony, they would lose the ability to vote.

Its outrageous, said Paul Gattone, an attorney for three of the protesters. I was shocked when I came on the case and saw they had charged them with organized street gang activity. They are trying to say that ACAB is an organization like the Crips and the Bloods, that they have an organization and theyre prone to violence. This is not an organization. These are just individuals that came together to protest.

It's hard to come away with any other realization than public safety isn't likely the driving principle of policing in America.Jared Keenan, ACLU

But when a large group of armed far-right protesters descended upon the Maricopa County Elections Office night after night in November to stop the steal, the police presence was noticeably less intense. No tear gas was deployed and no arrests were made. The group included Infowars host Alex Jones, U.S. Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona, and Jake Angeli, who was seen wearing a fur hat, horns, and no shirt during the storming of the Capitol that resulted in the deaths of five people. Angeli, whose real name is Jacob Anthony Chansley, has since been arrested and faces unlawful entry and disorderly conduct charges.

Throughout the summer and into more recent anti-lockdown and election protests, said Jared Keenan, senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Arizona, it became shockingly clear that the Maricopa County Attorneys Office and the police are going to take two different approaches to protesters that they view as their political enemies and those who they have sympathy toward.

Its a pattern that has played out across the country. Time and again, police and prosecutors have treated white, right-wing protesters with kid gloves, but responded to Black Lives Matter protesters with the full force of the law. In D.C., a police officer posed for selfies, others shook hands with a member of the mob. At least 28 current law enforcement officers even attended the rally that sparked the invasion of the Capitol. In Kenosha, Wisconsin, where people were protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake, officers were filmed giving water to armed militia members, including Kyle Rittenhouse, and saying, We appreciate you guys, we really do. Moments later, Rittenhouse killed two people. Last week, an Iowa man who deliberately drove into a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters and injured several people was given a deferred judgment, meaning he will serve no prison time and the arrest will be expunged from his record, so long as he does not commit any more crimes in the next three years.

Meanwhile, police were caught on video after video this summer violently attacking peaceful Black Lives Matter activists: Officers shot multiple people in the eye, leaving several blinded in one eye. They pushed an old man down to the ground with such force that he bled from his ears, and rammed vehicles into protesters. In New York, two lawyers who allegedly set fire to an empty NYPD cruiser during a Black Lives Matter protest are facing life in prisonand a mandatory minimum sentence of 45 yearsbecause federal prosecutors chose to seek such a sentence. Prosecutors in Utah also raised the threat of life in prison against Black Lives Matter protesters in Salt Lake City who allegedly smashed windows and put red paint on the district attorneys office.

In Phoenix, local police muster overwhelming numbers to quash Black assembly, censor Black activism, and criminalize Black leaders with mere hours of notice before a peaceful protest, said Lola Nsangou, executive director of Mass Liberation Arizona. But in D.C., with weeks to prepare, local police sat idly by as the violent crowd scaled walls to occupy the Capitol building.

On Oct. 17, about 20 people gathered in downtown Phoenix to march for justice for victims of police violence. The group was made up mostly of young people, including three 17-year-olds, an honors student from Arizona State University, and a Harvard student. The group marched down the streets of Phoenix chanting Black lives matter. Some of the protesters moved traffic cones and signs into the middle of the street. Some carried umbrellas, which protesters have used to protect themselves from tear gas and projectiles.

Eventually, police officers donning helmets and bulletproof vests closed in on the group. With a weapon drawn, an officer told them to get on the ground, which they did. Police ripped away the umbrellas. Dozens of officers surrounded the protesters, video footage shows. Police handcuffed the kneeling protesters, yanked them to their feet, and put them in the back of cruisers. Police used pepper bullets on at least one of the protesters.

In arrest forms, police officers said the protesters belonged to a group known as ACAB All Cops Are Bastards. Police said some of the group members threw smoke devices. They submitted charges for felony aggravated assault on a police officer (one protester allegedly dug his nails into one officers left thumb while being arrested), obstructing a public thoroughfare, hindering prosecution, unlawful assembly, and rioting.

The case was assigned to the first responder bureau, which was established by Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel after she took office and handles crimes against first responders. The bureau was created with the help of former Phoenix police officer Tom Van Dorn. The lead prosecutor on the case, April Sponsel, is married to an Arizona state trooper. Sponsel brought gang charges against the protesters, in addition to many of the charges submitted by police.

Last month, Sponsel filed motions to allege at least six aggravating circumstances against the protesters, which enhances the criminal penalties the protesters will face if convicted. Prosecutors allege that the protesters committed offenses that involved the infliction or threatened infliction of serious injury, involved the use or possession of a deadly weapon, specifically umbrella and/or smoke bombs, and wore a mask during the offense.

While police and prosecutors claim the protesters are part of a gang called ACAB, protesters and their attorneys say many of the people who attended the Oct. 17 protest didnt even know each other.

The only person at the protest who I previously knew was my boyfriend, one of the protesters, Amy Kaper, said in an affidavit submitted to the court. I had no contact by and through social media, texting, or in any other manner with any of the protesters before that evening. Kaper is a healthcare worker studying to get her masters degree and has no criminal record, according to the affidavit. Her boyfriend was also arrested.

Ryan Tait, a defense attorney who represents one of the protesters and previously worked for the Maricopa County Attorneys Office, said that he and his client strongly dispute the gang charges. Assisting a criminal street gang is a charge that enhances a sentence, Tait said. It has serious consequences. It puts you in a category where the penalties are enhanced and opportunities for a reduced sentence are cut.

Ryder is a nurse who lives in Prescott who has never been a member of a gang, is not a member of a gang, and does not know anyone who is involved in this case, attorney Katie Gipson-McLean said of her client, Ryder Collins. He didnt go downtown to participate in the protest, nor did he participate in any protest. Hes an amateur photographer, which is what brought him downtown that day.

In a statement, the county attorneys office said the prosecution was not political and that it supports everyones First Amendment rights, but will not allow violence to take over our streets.

While some will attempt to describe these defendants as protestors, a grand jury found probable cause to charge this group with crimes, including the planning of violence, the MCAO said. As County Attorney Adel has publicly stated numerous times, MCAO is committed to protecting the safety of everyone in this community, law enforcement and demonstrators alike.

After the deaths of George Floyd and Dion Johnson, who was killed by an Arizona state trooper last May, Black Lives Matter demonstrators marched in the streets of Phoenix to demand justice and change. During the first four nights of protests in Phoenix, police arrested nearly 350 people, including four undocumented people who then faced deportation. Police used tear gas and non-lethal projectiles on protesters, in one case breaking a mans arm. They targeted protest leaders and accused them of committing crimes the activists say they did not commit. Local police have surveilled police reform activists and victims of police violence in Maricopa County, but have not extended the same monitoring to far-right groups.

Last week, Adels office declined to bring charges against the Phoenix police officer who threatened to shoot Mayor Kate Gallego, stating that they could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers statements constituted a true threat. According to a police report, Officer Steve Poulos, a 22-year veteran with the department, said If the mayor defunds the police, Im going to shoot her. When his sergeant told Poulos he was not going to shoot the mayor, Poulos doubled down on his threat. Thats a promise, he reportedly said.

Overall, when you look at the way police and prosecutors have reacted to people protesting government killing of black and brown peoplethe mob was not treated by police the same way at that time, said Jared Keenan with the ACLU. Its hard to come away with any other realization than public safety isnt likely the driving principle of policing in America.

Several of the defendants have been offered plea deals, but its unlikely any will take it. According to an attorney familiar with the case, the plea requires the defendants to plead guilty to two felony offenses, including the street gang charge. In Arizona, those charges cannot be expunged or later downgraded to a misdemeanor, and if they ever got in trouble with the law again, theyd be put in a higher sentencing category with harsher penalties.

Some of the defendants have trials set for early March and April, though that date is likely to be pushed back as their attorneys fight the charges against them.

We cannot remain silent when the disparate impact of our criminal punishment machine is laid bare, said Nsangou from Mass Liberation. In 2020, peaceful protesters were criminalized by the thousands merely for calling to end generations of police violence. But in the first week of 2021, we watched a violent insurrection breach the halls of Congress with almost no opposition.

CORRECTION: This article originally misstated Tom Van Dorns relationship to the First Responders Bureau. Van Dorn helped create it, but now oversees the agencys Investigations Bureau and the Public Safety Liaison Team, which reviews police shootings and in-custody deaths. Sherry Leckrone leads the First Responders Bureau.

See the rest here:
They Took Umbrellas to a Black Lives Matter Protest. The D.A. Hit Them with Gang Charges - The Appeal

Responses to and analyses of the Jan. 6 seditious attack on the nations capital by a mob of Donald Trumps supporters have been wide ranging. Of particular significance has been the outcry over the disparity between the police response to the pro-Trump rioters and their response to the largely peaceful Black Lives Matter protests this past summer.

One cant escape the racial overtones laid bare by this juxtaposition. There is, however, an additional difference between BLM and Trumps insurrectionists to be noted: It is the former, not the latter, who are patriots committed to American values.

This may not be obvious to some. One might look at the fact that the BLM movement is grounded in a claim that racial injustice is woven into the fabric of our social, political and economic systems and wonder how one can object to the system yet be committed to the values it is meant to instantiate. Answering this question is the key to understanding how deeply committed the BLM movement is to American values.

To explain, the BLM movement is based on the proposition that our institutions have, for too many and for too long, failed to live up to their promise. The BLM movement merely demands that this promise be fulfilled. The BLM movement leans on our shared political values liberty, equality of opportunity and the rule of law to point out that our collective political project is not finished. One need not agree with their interpretation of these values or the impact that they claim these values ought to have (though I do) to recognize that the BLM project is one that seeks to perfect the American project by demanding that our shared values are made manifest for all. BLM demands that America lives up to its aspirations.

The same cannot be said for those who stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6. In fact, despite their rhetorical appeals to 1776 and their ostensive belief in the patriotic nature of their actions, the fact that the flags they flew were dominated by Trump campaign flags and included Confederate flags and banners of white supremacist gangs should be indication enough of where their loyalties lie. If we think of what their actions tell us, they violently stormed and looted our nations capital, seeking to overturn an election through forceful and unlawful means. In an effort to deny the will of the American people, they were implicitly denying the political equality of their fellow citizens, and they were undermining our political freedom, not defending it.

I should note that, though I may find many of the views held by Trumps supporters to be misguided if not wrong, those who chose not to take part in the storming of the Capitol building are not the object of this critique. Nothing I say here applies to those who were peacefully exercising their right to free expression. Even if I disagree with you, I respect your right to peacefully express your views.

For those who did choose the path of violence, some may claim that the intentions of these insurrectionists were, in fact, in line with the American commitment to democracy and freedom, that they were seeking to defend our democratic way of life. It is just that they have been fed a steady diet of lies and misinformation, and, as a consequence we cant hold them accountable for their ignorance or their actions. For the sake of argument, I will set aside my belief that the willful ignorance upon which this proposition relies is no excuse, and instead focus on the claim on its own terms.

Go inside New York politics.

By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy.

With this caveat noted, the values of our democratic republic include respect for the rule of law and a commitment to the proposition that every individual deserves equal respect within our legal and political processes. In practice this means that we respect the results of our elections and challenge them through the courts. It is our commitment to these institutions that allows a people as diverse as ours to live together and govern ourselves. To ignore the unanimous decisions of courts across this country and then try to overturn our election through force is an act of tyranny and not democracy, no matter what cloak you try to hide beneath.

I hope that in the aftermath of this crisis, we join BLM in the project of perfecting our republic, of living out the shared values that make our collective political life possible.

Joshua J. Kassner is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Baltimore. This piece was written for The Baltimore Sun.

See the original post:
BLM protestors are the real American patriots - Newsday