Tag: Atlanta

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Atlanta Police Officer Faces 11 Charges In Murder Of Rayshard Brooks

Former Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe (via Atlanta Police Dept)
From the New York Times:

A former Atlanta police officer was charged on Wednesday with murder and aggravated assault in the killing last week of a black motorist outside a fast-food restaurant, and prosecutors revealed chilling new details of the late-night encounter, including that the officer kicked the dying man after shooting him twice in the back.

The former officer, Garrett Rolfe, faces a total of 11 charges in connection with the death of the motorist, Rayshard Brooks. The shooting, which was captured on a widely circulated video, has prompted the resignation of Atlanta’s police chief and further inflamed the tensions over race and policing that are roiling the nation.

At a news conference on Wednesday to announce the charges, prosecutors said that Mr. Rolfe declared, “I got him,” after firing the fatal shots at Mr. Brooks. Mr. Rolfe kicked the victim, prosecutors said, while his partner stood on the fatally wounded man’s shoulder.

Mr. Rolfe and his partner, Devin Brosnan, both of whom are white, then failed to render aid for more than two minutes, said Paul L. Howard Jr., the Fulton County district attorney.

Brosnan was charged with three counts, including aggravated assault and violations of oath, although he is said to be cooperating with prosecutors in the case.

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News Round-Up: February 25, 2020

Karl Thorssen (via Twitter)
Some news items you might have missed: • Twitter: After the hashtag #BisexualMenExist began to trend on Twitter, Karl Thorssen joined the party tweeting the pic above with the caption, “Joyfully reminding y’all that and sometimes take selfies in trucks.” #woof • The Advocate: An Atlanta man who pretended to be gay in order to befriend a lesbian has been convicted of raping her in 2015. • HRC: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who is technically still running for the Democratic nomination for president, refused to answer questions regarding LGBTQ issues for the Human Rights Campaign. • Politico: Two Florida Democrats have filed a lawsuit asking that Sen. Bernie Sanders be disqualified from the Democratic primary because he’s a declared independent. The two military veterans argue that because Florida has a closed primary only declared Democrats should be on the ballot. • Reuters: The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to uphold a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit against a Border Patrol agent for fatally shooting a 15-year-old Mexican boy on Mexican soil from across the border in Texas. The family sued in federal court accusing the agent of violating the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment ban on unjustified deadly force and the Fifth Amendment right to due process. The court dismissed the case saying people who are not in the United States at the time of a cross-border incident to file civil rights lawsuits in federal court. • New Music: Hailing from rural isolation on a sheep farm in the Scottish Highlands, ONR (pronounced “honor”) drops his new track “Sober” (feat. Carina Jade). The track draws musical inspiration from both indie rock and 80s synth-pop while the video is an intoxicating wash of pink, black and blue light. “Sober” is his debut release on Warner Records and the first off his forthcoming Must Stop EP, out May 15.

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Gay Stripper Gets Life In Prison For Murder Of Secret Lover

William Bradley Morgan (mugshot)
A former dancer at a gay strip club in Atlanta has been sentenced to life in prison for killing his boyfriend. William Bradley Morgan, 37, was convicted on multiple charges including the murder of 43-year-old Brian Campbell, as well as aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, theft by taking, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the two men met at a club in 2015. At the time, both were married to women. Morgan was employed as a dancer at the infamous all-nude Swinging Richards gay nightclub in Atlanta. His estranged wife lived in Alabama. Campbell, an executive for Comcast, lived in Delaware with his wife and children, but business trips brought him to Atlanta frequently. The two men soon became intimate and secretly began living together. But over time Morgan became financially dependent on Campbell. The financial situation, along with Morgan’s addiction to methamphetamines and the secret nature of their relationship eventually led Campbell to consider ending the romance. After spending the day at a racing event on October 1, 2016, Campbell apparently told Morgan he was leaving him.  It was at that point that Morgan shot Campbell twice in the head. Attempting to cover up the murder, he wrapped Morgan in plastic trash bags and hid the body in a closet. Morgan turned the thermostat down and lit a scented candle presumably to conceal the smell. On his way out the door, he stole Campbell’s Land Rover Discovery, two expensive watches, his cell phone, an iPad, his wallet and a handgun. It would be four days until Campbell’s body would be found when his wife contacted authorities filing a missing persons report. His abandoned vehicle was found in Calhoun County, Alabama. Two weeks later, Morgan was arrested in Jacksonville, Alabama, after a standoff with police. After his arrest, he admitted to the secret relationship and stealing Campbell’s belongings, but denied committing the murder. Morgan had previously spent time in prison for aggravated assault and domestic violence. This week, Fulton Superior Court Judge Shawn Ellen LaGrua sentenced Morgan to life in prison.

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Atlanta Joins North Carolina Travel Ban Over HB 2

At last count, the cities and states with travel bans to North Carolina – over the anti-LGBT HB 2 legislation – include Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, New York City, New York state, Vermont, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Washington state.

You can now add Atlanta to the list:

Atlanta’s mayor has issued a travel ban to North Carolina. This comes after controversy over a nondiscrimination bill that some believe allows for discrimination.

Mayor Kasim Reed’s office issued the following statement Monday: “As a result of Governor Pat McCrory’s decision to sign discriminatory and unnecessary legislation into law, effective today I am directing all City departments to stop non-essential, publicly-funded employee travel to the State of North Carolina.

“I extend my support to Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts, who worked to enhance protections for the city’s LGBT population, as well as to the LGBT residents of North Carolina. Every person, regardless of their gender, gender expression or sexuality is a valued member of our community.”

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Atlanta: FBI Opens Hate Crime Investigation Into Boiling Water Attack On Two Gay Men

Anthony Gooden

Two gay men in Atlanta suffered second and third degree burns last month when the boyfriend of one of the two men poured boiling hot water on them while they slept.

Now, the FBI has opened a hate-crime investigation which could lead to more severe charges.

Authorities say 48-year-old Martin Blackwell, the boyfriend of the mother of victim Anthony Gooden, told investigators he was disgusted with Gooden’s relationship with Marquez Tolbert and poured “a little hot water on them.”

Tolbert was hospitalized for 10 days and had to undergo surgery. Gooden was released from a hospital two weeks ago.

Blackwell has been charged with two counts of aggravated battery. It’s unclear whether he has an attorney.

Blackwell remains in jail and faces two charges of aggravated battery.

Gooden’s mother, Kim Foster, has said in interviews that Blackwell did not approve of her son being gay. “He got hatred in his heart and God’s gonna deal with him,” Foster said.

In the aftermath of the attack, Gooden spent two weeks in a coma and Tobert spent 10 days in the hospital.

Years of treatment and recovery lay ahead of both men.

Two separate GoFundMe campaigns have been set up – one for Gooden here, and another for Tolbert here. More than $60,000 has been raised for each of the men at this writing.

Marquez Tolbert
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Brenda Wood Of Atlanta Gets It In On-Air Editorial

For all those “Christians” (that’s people who THINK they act Christ-like but really don’t), Brenda Wood spells it all out for you.

Please take note – Ms. Wood in on point here.

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Brenda Wood 11Alive looks back at the fast-moving and historic events of last week in Monday's Last Word — "Same-sex marriage: Judgement Day."More Last Words: http://on.11alive.com/1HdzAkUPosted by 11Alive on Monday, June 29, 2015

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Fired Atlanta Fire Chief Files Religious Discrimination Charges

Fired Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran has filed a complaint against the city of Atlanta for religious discrimination, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Kelvin became a national story recently because he was terminated for proselytizing subordinates at work by handing out a faith-based self-published book condemning homosexual acts as “vile, vulgar and inappropriate.”

During a month-long suspension, Cochran was warned not to speak out about the issue while it was being investigated. He did so anyway.

At the time of the firing, Mayor Reed said, “His religious (beliefs) are not the basis of the problem. His judgment is the basis of the problem.”

Cochran swore out the complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by the City of Atlanta on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Attorney Jonathan Crumly filed an EEOC complaint Wednesday on behalf of Cochran, who was fired this month after complaints about his self-published 2013 book, “Who Told You You Are Naked?” “Americans are guaranteed the freedom to live without fear of losing their jobs because of their beliefs and thoughts. We are continuing to evaluate all available legal options to vindicate Chief Cochran after his unjust termination,” said Crumly, who is allied with the group Alliance Defending Freedom that has rallied to Cochran’s defense.

Talking Points Memo reports Mayor Reed had this to say about the complaint:

“He can get all of the lawyers he wants so that he can continue to have publicity and sell books, but he’s going to lose the legal case,” Reed told local TV station WAGA. “What is not disputed is he never communicated with me, the chief executive officer, prior to the publication of the book. It’s clearly out of bounds.”

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Tony Perkins Compares Gay Activists To Charlie Hebdo Terrorists

During an appearance on “Washington Watch” yesterday, hate group leader Tony Perkins compared Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s decision to terminate the city’s fire chief for violating city employment practices by distributed to his employees a self-published book containing condemnations of homosexuality to the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris:

“Look, what happened there in Paris was designed to intimidate and silence. What happened here in Georgia, it wasn’t terrorists, it was a mayor; it wasn’t a gun he fired, but it was the chief he fired. And the intent was the same: it was to silence and to intimidate people of faith.”

(via Right Wing Watch)

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Erick Erickson Calls Atlanta LGBT Activists “Terrorists”

Erick Erickson of RedState, writing on his personal blog, compared LGBT activists in Atlanta who brought attention to a fire chief who distributed his anti-gay book to employees to the terrorists who killed 12 in Paris today.

From Media Matters:

On January 6, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed dismantled conservatives’ claims that Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran was fired over a book that he wrote which contains anti-gay remarks, explaining that Cochran’s lack of judgment in distributing the book to his employees, and not following instructions regarding his month-long suspension over publishing the book without notice to the city, is what led to his termination.

On January 7, hours after a horrific terrorist attack against staffers of the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris that left 12 people dead, Erickson wrote a blog post that likened the LGBT community to terrorists for objecting to the former Atlanta fire chief’s book, and stated that “the terrorists won.”

Erick Erickson wrote this on his site:

A publisher published something that offended. It mocked, it offended, and it showed the fallacy of a religion. It angered.

So the terrorists decided they needed to publicly destroy and ruin the publisher in a way that would not only make that destruction a public spectacle, but do it so spectacularly that others would think twice before publishing or saying anything similar.

The terrorist wants to sow fear. The destruction of an individual is not just meant to be a tool of vengeance, but a tool of instruction. It shows others what will happen to them if they dare do the same. It is generates self-regulating peer pressure. Others, fearing the fall out, will being to self-police and self-regulate. They will silence others on behalf of the terrorists. Out of fear, they will drive the ideas from the public square and society will make them off limits.

[snip]

So when a publisher published something that mocked and offended a group prone to offense at such things, something had to happen.

The terrorists did what had to be done to publicly destroy and ruin the offender.

So they demanded the Mayor of Atlanta fire the Chief of the Fire Department for daring to write that his first duty was to “glory God” and that any sex outside of heterosexual marriage was a sin.

And the terrorists won in Atlanta.

UPDATE: Erickson read his “op-ed” on his radio show today. You can him read the piece at the 3:00 mark below. He prefaces the reading saying he knows he’ll offend people.  At least he got that part right.

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Georgia: Young gay turned out by family directs donations to local homeless shelter

A Georgia man, Daniel Ashley Pierce, who’s video depicting physical abuse by family members during his coming out went viral, has seen a crowd-funding campaign set up in his name soar to almost $100,000 in funds to help him.

Now, Daniel has asked his friends to stop donating to the campaign and direct donations to an Atlanta-based LGBT homeless shelter.  From Daniel:

Thank you to everyone from around America and all over the world for your support in the past several days. This has been a rough time for me and I never imagined that so many people would show such overwhelming compassion and generosity.

[snip]

I’ve asked my friends to discontinue donations to the GoFundMe page, but if you would still like to give money and help the LGBTQ youth homeless crisis, please visit the Lost-n-Found Youth website at www.Lost-n-Found.org for more information on how you can make a difference for the many other kids in the world like me.

Rick Westbrook, Executive Director for Lost-n-Found, says the organization has received approximately $10,000 in funds from Daniel’s request.