The U.S. Department of Justice is launching an investigation into the shooting death of an unarmed black man in Georgia as a hate crime, according to attorneys for the victim’s family.
Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was shot and killed by two white men while jogging in his neighborhood on February 23. Three arrests were made this month after video surfaced of the violent encounter.
Attorneys for Arbery’s family said the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia Bobby Christine and his office will look into why Glynn County and the state of Georgia took more than two months to make an arrest and whether the region has historically violated the rights of its citizens. The U.S. Attorney said he plans to file criminal and civil charges.
William Bryan, who recorded Arbery’s killing from his car, was arrested and charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. His footage showed 64-year-old Gregory McMichael and his 34-year-old son, Travis, confront Arbery before shooting him.
Gregory and Travis were both arrested May 9. Travis was charged with murder and aggravated assault, and Gregory was charged with party to murder and aggravated assault.
Ahmaud Arbery The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has arrested the man who filmed the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, the unarmed 25-year-old black man who was killed during an encounter with two white men, in connection with the killing. From the New York Times:
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that the man, William Bryan, 50, was arrested on charges of felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. The two other men, Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, were charged with murder and aggravated assault this month.
Mr. Bryan, who is white, recorded the confrontation on Feb. 23 as the McMichaels pursued Mr. Arbery while he was running through the Satilla Shores neighborhood near Brunswick on the southeastern Georgia coast.
More than two months passed without arrests or criminal charges, and the video, released online this month, has been credited with bringing a surge of attention to the case and mobilizing activists. After the McMichaels were arrested, pressure ratcheted up for the authorities to arrest Mr. Bryan, who is known as Roddie.
Activists have said publicly that Bryan “had been more than a bystander.” Arbery’s family issued a statement this evening saying they were “relieved” by the arrest. “His involvement in the murder of Mr. Arbery was obvious to us, to many around the country and after their thorough investigation, it was clear to the G.B.I. as well,” read the statement.
Dayton Kingery on left (image via screen capture) When a student at Chapman College in California went on a drunken homophobic, racist rant in an economics class Tuesday morning his fellow students took it upon themselves to eject him from the space. Dayton Kingery, 21, was captured on video that was shared on Twitter announcing he’d been “drinking Bacardi all day” before declaring “I f*cking hate n*ggers.” In the video clip, another student can be heard to say “You should probably chill, buddy.” After repeating the statement a few more times, he shifted his focus to queer people telling the class “I f*cking hate f*ggots, too – how about that?” At that point, the students in the room were done. One classmate informed Kingery, “All right, you’ve got to get out of here, bro.”
This is Dayton Kingery. He’s a student at Chapman university in CA. This morning he went on a racist & homophobic rant during a lecture. This bigot needs to be expelled ASAP @ChapmanU. pic.twitter.com/yQmIc9PK70
In a second clip also posted to Twitter, Kingery is seen arguing with someone in the room, saying, “You don’t know who I am, guy. I’m not kidding … I’ll bury you. I’m worth, like, $50 million.” He then turned to another student in the classroom, poked him and said, “This f*ggot right here.” That student, having had enough of the intoxicated tirade, can be seen standing up to Kingery telling him, “Don’t touch me, don’t touch me.” At that point, he’s ejected from the classroom but is handed the wrong backpack. Kingery throws that backpack down the hall and then proceeds to stomp on it yelling, “I hope your laptop was in there, you f*cking f*ggot.”
Here’s part 2 of the video. This is horrifying. Tag @ChapmanU and let them know that Dayton does not belong on campus. He’s a threat to black & LGBTQ students. pic.twitter.com/Pv7taAVSZU
When campus security was called to the scene, the 21-year-old ended up in a violent scuffle with the officer. When officers from the Orange Police Department attempted to arrest him, he resisted resulting in the cops placing him in a hobble restraint in order to remove him from campus. Kingery was arrested and charged with suspicion of making criminal threats, felony vandalism (for destroying the laptop in the backpack), and elder abuse for injuring the campus security guard who was over 65-years-old. Dayton Kingery (mug shot via Orange Police) The university issued a statement on Thursday that Kingery was no longer a student at the school. The statement posted to Twitter from Chapman President Daniele Struppa read, in part, “Racist and homophobic conduct will not be tolerated on this campus, and we took decisive and swift action.” “A situation such as this is difficult, it affected many and we want to provide the needed support as we all move through this difficult time.”
(2/2) We will soon be communicating additional resources available to you (via your Chapman email) as a member of the campus community. A situation such as this is difficult, it affected many, and we want to provide the needed support as we all move through this difficult time."
Struppa also expressed her “deepest apologies to the Black and LGBTQIA communities who were specifically targeted” during the drunken rant. Here’s the report by CBS Los Angeles:
Michael J. Reynolds (mugshot via Metro Nashville Police) Some news items you might have missed: • NBC News: New York City Police officer Michael J. Reynolds (above), who broke into a black woman’s home in Tennessee and threatened her and her sons with a racist slur has resigned from the force. Last month, Reynolds was sentenced to 15 days in jail and three years’ probation after pleading no contest to one count of aggravated criminal trespassing and three counts of assault. • The Advocate: Hate preacher Steven Anderson, the Arizona minister whose death wishes for LGBTQ people have gotten him banned from more than 30 countries, says Australia is being devastated by wildfires because he was banned from the country. • Twitter: Singer Lizzo says she’s done with Twitter for now – “Too many trolls…”
Yeah I can’t do this Twitter shit no more.. too many trolls… ✌🏾 I’ll be back when I feel like it.
• JoeMyGod: American Family Association radio host Bryan Fischer told his listeners gay men founded the Nazi party: “Let’s not forget that the Nazi Party started in a gay bar. The Nazi Party started in a gay bar in Munich, Germany, and the Stormtroopers were Hitler’s enforcers in the early days of the Nazi regime — the S.A., the Stormtroopers. Without exception, the officers in Hitler’s private army were homosexuals. You had no chance of advancing through the ranks unless you were a hardcore homosexual.” • NewNowNext: Brokeback Mountain star Jake Gyllenhaal has secured the rights to produce and star in the film adaptation of the award-winning Broadway musical, Fun Home. He will play troubled gay patriarch Bruce Bechdel, who runs the family funeral home. • Delaware News Journal: A Republican County Chairman in Pennsylvania, Chris Rowe, has announced he will resign for using the word “faggots” in a comment on a recent Facebook post. “Faggots cannot handle reality. Bad guy loses FB pisses themselves,” wrote Rowe. He later added on Facebook that he feels he has nothing to apologize for as the comment was “locker room talk” between him and a lifelong friend. #LockerroomTalk • Apple TV: Check out this first look at the five-part series Visible: Out on Television debuting on Apple TV+ on February 14. Apple TV’s The Morning Show starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon was thrilling to watch. Just saying…
A prospective African-American homebuyer in Michigan was touring a home when he came across Confederate flag placemats on the dining room table.
Taking a look at the NASCAR-inspired garage, he found two more Confederate flags.
According to the Washington Post, Rob Mathis said to himself, “Wouldn’t it be funny if this was a Klansman’s house?”
And just minutes later, he and his wife came across a plaque in one of the bedrooms. Mounted on wood was an application for membership in the Ku Klux Klan.
The home, about an hour outside of Grand Rapids, belongs to Muskegon police officer Charles Anderson, who has served on the police force there for more than 20 years.
Mathis posted a photo of the KKK application as he shared how the experience left him rattled.
“I feel sick to my stomach knowing that I walk to the home of one of the most racist people in Muskegon hiding behind his uniform and possibly harassing people of color and different nationalities,” he wrote in his post late Wednesday.
The city of Muskegon announced in a Facebook post that an investigation had been opened and Anderson is now on administrative leave.
When contacted by MLive.com, Anderson offered only a brief response saying, “They (his police union) said not to talk about it. That’s what they told me. Because it’s under internal investigation they said not to make a statement.”
Complicating things more, Anderson was involved in the shooting death of a black man ten years ago while on duty. At the time, he was acquited of any wrongdoing.
But, the Muskegon chapter of the NAACP is now asking that all cases involving Anderson and people of color be reviewed.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson told his TV audience last night that white supremacy is “actually not a real problem in America.”
“This is a hoax, just like the Russia hoax,” he added. “It’s a conspiracy theory used to divide the country and keep a hold on power.”
Saying “the whole thing is a lie,” Carlson downplayed the threat by saying, “The combined membership of every white supremacist organization in this country would be able to fit inside a college football stadium.”
As CNN reports, the point is that men like the suspect in the El Paso shooting aren’t “members” of an “organization.”
The suspect made clear in the manifesto he left behind that he wanted to kill as many Mexicans as possible.
But Tucker Carlson says white supremacy is not a real problem in America.
Tucker Carlson: White supremacy is “actually not a real problem in America.” Calling white supremacy and issue is “a hoax” and “a conspiracy theory used to divide the country” pic.twitter.com/ydzmJ0L7UI
I have something to tell Tucker Carlson. My parents were white supremacists. Their hate was not a hoax. They wanted what’s happening now. I ran from everything they believed. But their vile beliefs were real. Dangerous. And shared by too many. We can’t pretend otherwise.
According to a new poll by Quinnipiac University, a slight majority of Americans believe Donald Trump is racist (51 percent) versus 45 percent who say he is not racist.
Think how incredible it is that we are even having such a conversation – is the president of the United States racist?
Of those polled, 80 percent of black respondents say Trump is racist, 11 percent disagree.
Among Hispanic voters, 55 percent say Trump is racist, 44 percent disagree.
There’s a gender divide on the issue as well. While 55 percent of men do not feel Trump is racist, 59 percent of women do believe the Commander in Chief is racist.
When it comes to impeachment proceedings, 60 percent say Congress should not begin impeachment proceedings, 32 percent support moving forward with articles of impeachment.
Regarding the recent Mueller investigation, 52 percent of respondents said they believe Trump attempted to “derail or obstruct” the investigation, 40 percent disagreed.
And 71 percent of those polled are “concerned” or “very concerned” a foreign government will try to interfere in the upcoming 2020 elections.
A huge majority – 87 percent – disagree with the president and believe political campaigns should be required to contact the FBI if contacted by a foreign government with dirt on their political opponent.
And 59 percent support additional laws to protect U.S. elections versus 31 percent who do not. Of those, 54 percent of Republicans (surprise) think current laws are enough.
Donald Trump’s recent racist tweets are nothing new for the Donald.
The New York Times reports that in 2005, he pitched to NBC a season of The Apprentice that would have pitted an all-white team against an all-black team.
For the fourth season of “The Apprentice,” Donald J. Trump searched for a gimmick to bolster ratings. His idea was simple if explosive — pit an all-white team against an all-black team.
“Do you like it?” he asked, previewing the concept on Howard Stern’s radio show in April 2005.
“Yes,” Mr. Stern said.
“Do you like it?” Mr. Trump asked Robin Quivers, the African-American co-host.
“Well,” she said, “I think you’re going to have a riot.”
That gave Mr. Trump no pause. “It would be the highest-rated show on television,” he exulted.
During the Stern interview, Trump reportedly said his idea would be to have an “assortment” of light and dark skinned black contestants, but the white team would be “all blond.”
The New York Times goes on to note that NBC executives quickly squashed the idea.
In an interview on Fox News, host Chris Wallace asked White House adviser Stephen Miller to explain Donald Trump’s “go back where they came from” remark and the “send her back” chant at a recent campaign rally.
“That is not protecting the American people, that is playing the race card,” Wallace said. “Let’s take the Obama birther — you don’t think that questioning whether the first black president is [a citizen]…”
“That’s not a race question!” Miller interrupted.
“I fundamentally disagree with the view that if you criticize someone and they happen to be a different color skin that that makes it a racial criticism,” Miller complained. “If you want to have a colorblind society, it means you can criticize immigration policy, you can criticize people’s views, you can ask questions about where they’re born and not have it be seen as racial.”
“And can you also say ‘go back’ where you came from?” Wallace wondered.
Miller argued that “the president was clear” that he disagreed with the “send her back” chant at his rally.
“He let it go on for 13 seconds and it was only when the chant diminished that he started talking again,” Wallace noted. “He said nothing there or in his tweet after the rally that indicated any concern about the chant.”
According to Miller, the audience chanted the racist phrase because they are tired of being “beat up” by liberals.
“During his 2016 campaign and even as president Mr. Trump has been as critical of this country as anything The Squad [of Democratic congresswomen] has said,” Wallace observed. “He said President Obama was the most ignorant president in our history. But about [Russian President Vladimir Putin], he says, ‘You think our country is so innocent?’”
“You don’t think the president ran on ‘lock her up?’” Wallace pressed. “Nobody has any problem with what the president’s policies have been, it’s when he goes into stoking racial fears. I’ve never called any of his tweets racist, but there’s no question that he is stoking racial divisions.”
Watch clips from the segment below.
Stephen Miller defends birtherism (!!!): “They raised questions about John McCain’s circumstances of birth … I fundamentally disagree with the view that if you criticize somebody & they happen to be a different color skin, that makes it a racial criticism.” pic.twitter.com/Ozp1OC50A1
Astounding, shameless gaslighting – after Stephen Miller echoes Trump & smears @AOC for calling America “garbage,” Chris Wallace recites her exact quote, in which she didn’t at all call America “garbage.”
A white security guard in Ohio has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated menacing after he was caught on surveillance video pulling a gun on a uniformed black sheriff’s deputy because he was armed.
Lucas County Sheriff’s deputy Alan Gaston dropped by his local IRS office in Toledo on May 31 to inquire about a letter he had received.
Dressed in his full sheriff’s office uniform with his badge and gun clearly visible, Gaston was told by a security guard – identified as Seth Eklund – that he would have to leave his gun in his car to enter the offices.
Gaston explained he couldn’t do that as he was on duty so he decided to leave the office.
Video footage shows Gaston exiting the office as the security guard followed him with his gun drawn and aimed at the deputy’s back. With his gun drawn the entire time, Eklund followed the deputy to the building’s elevators.
According to Gaston, the security guard attempted to take the sheriff’s deputy “into custody.”
Gaston told local ABC news affiliate 13ABC that he felt the best way to de-escalate the situation was to try and calmly walk away. The sheriff’s deputy works as a defensive tactics instructor.
“I was basically preparing myself to be shot at that moment,” said Gaston. “Bracing for a shot in my back. There’s really no way to know how you’re going to act when there’s a gun pointed at you and when you think you’re going to lose your life.”
According to reports, a worker at the IRS office made a call to 911 saying there was someone there with a gun. At no point did the caller mention that the ‘man with a gun’ was a sheriff’s deputy.
Gaston has filed a lawsuit against Eklund saying he has suffered emotional and psychological distress from the incident. He has been on medical leave from work since the incident.
